Lethe
by notmanos
Summary: Movieverse Logan Angel t.v. series crossover: Naomi from D&A and Logan seek her sister, taken by the men who mutilated him. But when Logan is captured,ugly truths surface.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer:The characters of Angel are owned by 20th Century Fox and Mutant Enemy;the character of Wolverine is also owned by 20th Century Fox and Marvel Comics.No copyright infringement intended.                                                                

N.B.: Takes place shortly after the "X Men" movie and during "Angel" season two. Comes after DV. 

    LETHE 

    1 

NOW  
Alberta,Canada   

    Only when Angel felt the initial explosions rippling through the ground beneath his feet did he realize it was too late. 

He threw Electra and himself down in the snow,trying to cover her with his body in a vain hope of protecting her as the entire complex behind them suddenly vaporized in an explosion more felt than heard:a concussive wall of force that seemed to press down on them like a giant invisible hand as it knocked snow and frail branches from the thicket of skeletal trees surrounding them. 

A huge blanket of thrown snow suddenly fell on top of them,threatening to smother them,but at the same time it protected them from the burning debris raining down from the sky.Angel also heard soft plops of what he assumed to be body parts landing around them,sounding liquid in the snow. 

The ground finally stopped its spasmodic trembling as the secondary explosions came to an end,and a sort of anti-noise,a hollow white noise hum,filled his ears,a roar almost as deafening as the initial explosion. 

Sure that all the biggest bits of debris had already fallen to Earth,Angel pushed himself up,disrupting the protective blanket of snow.Shaking ice crystals from his hair,he looked back towards the complex. 

Where it used to be was a huge crater,maybe one hundred feet across and ten feet deep,with pieces of metal pipes that managed to survive the blast sticking out of the wound like huge arteries,twisted and wrenched to the side.They must have been adamantium,because nothing else could have survived that blast. 

Trees in a twenty foot radius around the complex's outer perimeter had been knocked down, fanning out like fallen matchsticks,while others had been blown to splinters,and still others were currently on fire,the thickening grey smoke pouring up into an equally slate grey sky.  
Save for the fire and the shadows it cast,there was no movement at all. 

Electra pushed herself up from the snow,still looking groggy and barely conscious due to the drug they had given her to keep her from using her powers,and looked back at the ruins,glassy eyed and glum."He's dead,"she said flatly.Not like a question or a guess,but like she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt."Logan's dead." 

Angel wanted to deny that,to say he couldn't be,but instead he started scanning the body parts around them for glimpses of a silver adamantium skeleton. 

When he agreed to get Electra out of there,he told Logan to wait for him,that he'd be back,and Logan had said he'd "do his best",which was,in retrospect,no answer at all.Hadn't he seen the anger in Logan's eyes,the pure murder?He wanted vengeance,to make them pay,sooner rather than later-and Angel knew he wouldn't wait.He knew he wouldn't,and yet he had gone and left Logan in there.And Logan had went straight to the heart of the beast,and ripped it out,knowing full well he'd probably pay with his life. 

He had come all the way from Los Angeles to save Logan,and yet he had just let him die. 

    2 

ONE WEEK EARLIER 

Vancouver,Canada 

    Logan stood on the old wooden pier,looking out at the ocean,which was like a vast pool of ink under the harsh white spotlight of the full moon;calm,black,and unfathomable. 

He wondered,for a minute,if he jumped in,would he sink right to the bottom?He bet he would- his metal skeleton and all.And never have the strength to surface. 

So then,swimming as a hobby was down the toilet. 

He shrugged deeper into his coat as the breeze off the water turned colder,throwing salt spray into his face and making him shiver. 

What the hell did he think he was doing here? 

He had been in Vancouver for almost a week now,trying to find out something about his past here-presuming he had a past-but it had been like searching for a mutant at a Save Humanity Now rally.What did he know about himself?He was here,at least briefly,in the late '60's;his name was Logan,probably his first name,but just as possibly his last (second name,in either case,unknown);he looked different,at least according to Angel (eyes were 'greener'-also he didn't have the facial hair;he looked less 'Wolverine-ish',which mean that too was something they had done to him).He didn't know where to start looking for a man named Logan who may have passed through Vancouver in the fall of 1969. 

Angel did give him the address of the street where the car had mowed him down,and he had hoped it would stimulate some memories,or at least a sense of deja vu.But it was just another street in this port city,no more or less recognizable or important than the street before or street after it.Surely it had changed since the '60's-he was willing to bet the Starbucks,Gap,and Barnes and Noble were new-but so completely it was unrecognizable? 

He had to move on before the frustration alone killed him.Where would he go?Scour Alberta again?Go back to New York?He wondered if he could face the others now-what if someone asked him what he had been doing?What would he say:I met a vampire in L.A.,and helped him take down a demon possessed multi-millionaire who was killing mutants and demon in his spare time;and then he helped me take down a new government mutant testing lab in the Nevada desert;and then I briefly lost my mind,thanks to a traitorous mutant and some sort of demon worshiping law firm,but he helped me get it back,and I killed a big,ugly looking demon.Then I went to Vancouver because Drac remembered seeing me get hit by a car there in the late '60's. 

Oh yes,that sounded remarkably sane. 

When he bothered to think about it,was it any more insane than the rest of his life?His life seemed to be one disaster after another,a nightmare that never quite stopped,only switched gears,like a beater car with a possessed engine and no brakes. 

So when he heard the scream,he was far from surprised. 

It was a woman,somewhere in the dark maze of buildings surrounding the docks.For a second,he thought about letting it pass-didn't he have enough problems without getting involved in someone else's problems?-but just as he turned and scented the air,trying to figure out where she was,he heard a second noise:a deep,inhuman snarl,almost a roar. 

His first thought was Sabertooth. 

Of course,he was willing to bet cold,hard cash that Bigfoot looking motherfucker was dead-long dead-and even if somehow not,he wouldn't be here.But whatever it had been,it sounded like him. 

Yet it smelled different. 

In spite of the shift of the wind,heavy with the scent of saline and rotting kelp,he could smell the woman-scared,had been drinking a little (tequila)-and then he could smell whatever it was that had growled.It smelled really strange:a little Human beneath a lot of wolf,musky and rank.Some weird type of mutant? 

On the plus side,it smelled a bit better than Sabertooth. 

Even if he hadn't been able to triangulate the noises by direction of sound alone,the scent of tequila in the woman's sweat gave away her location as near the seedy bar on the far left side of the wharf (what kind of woman drank in a bar that was named 'Salty Pete's'?Even he wouldn't drink there if he was desperate,and he felt at home in low life dives),and he ran for it,honestly curious what he would find. 

The woman came running out of the alley as he reached it and nearly collided with him full force,but he was able to grab her by the shoulders and slew her aside."What is it?"He asked,looking into her wet,startled eyes. 

She was probably thirty but looked forty,her makeup slapped on with a trowel,her dyed brassy copper hair as stiff as a helmet with too much hairspray and mousse.She made a sort of incoherent noise and pointed past his shoulder,her blue eyes too wide and too bright with fear,but he had been turning back anyway,having seen a blur out of the corner of his eye,moving down the dark alley so fast it could have been a motorcycle. 

What jumped straight out at him was the largest,ugliest looking wolf he had ever seen. 

Although it lunged close enough for him to feel (and smell) its fetid,hot breath,by pure reflex alone he punched the damn thing,giving it a hard upper cut that caught it beneath its elongated muzzle and caused it to slam hard into the right side wall of the alleyway. 

It quickly recovered,bouncing off the brick and remaining on its four feet,but it staggered a little and shook its head hard,as if trying to clear cobwebs from its brain. 

It was maybe six feet long,at least two and a half feet high at the shoulders,and covered with matted silver grey fur,its yellow eyes large and luminous above a muzzle that seemed somehow wrong in shape for a wolf. 

Because it was unlike any wolf he had ever seen,and he was suddenly sure he had seen some (yes-you lived in the Canadian wilderness at some point,you saw wolves).Also,it smelled wrong;there was a sort of lupine muskiness,but there was a strong scent of human beneath...and what the hell would a big,ugly wolf be doing at a run down dock in downtown Vancouver?   
Unless it escaped from the zoo,but this looked too scraggly and unkempt for some zoo animal. 

It snarled at him,thin black lips pulling back over ivory fangs as its black pad of a nose quivered,picking up his unusual mutant scent.He saw the shine of the moon in its eyes and thought werewolf'. 

Instantly he dismissed the thought-yeah,right-but then decided it probably wasn't that far fetched.Did he not know someone who claimed to be a vampire?Had he not killed some 'Alien' reject looking thing not too long ago?And that thing didn't even smell the slightest bit human.  
So,werewolf-why the fuck not? 

It was clear the werewolf wanted the woman (who must have smelled normal) not him,so when it shifted direction and leapt towards her he wasn't surprised.He had,in fact,been expecting it.  
She screamed and stumbled back as its jaws snapped in mid-air,inches from her face,but that was as close as it ever got. 

Logan,possessed of a little inhuman speed of his own,grabbed it by the throat in mid-air and slammed it back hard against the brick wall,popped the claws of his right hand,and rammed them in the wolf's midsection.It howled in pain and he dropped it.It landed in a heap,on two feet while the other two sort of slid out beneath it.It wasn't enough to kill it,but it was a mortal wound that should take the wind out of it sails. 

"What the fuck are you?!"The woman exclaimed,horrified. 

He looked back at her,retracting his claws,and saw her face was an almost comical mask of terror as she started backing away slowly.It was hard to say who she was more afraid of-him or the wolf. 

She started running away down the shadowy docks,and he let her go,vaguely disgusted that he had bothered to save her."We freaks should stick together,huh?"He said to the werewolf,who was whimpering slightly and slinking away.Logan let it go,feeling sort of bad for it. 

The world was so much more fucked up than he had ever imagined.He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

He decided to go get a beer and figure it out.But there was no way he was going to any place named 'Salty Pete's'. 

    **** 

    Logan drove until he found an undeniably seedy place on the edge of Vancouver's Chinatown, a place with the truly unpromising name of  'The Golden Door',which made him think of a bad porn movie.No,that was the 'Green Door',wasn't it? 

Anyhow,the interior was just what he expected:all wood paneling and dim lighting made dimmer by a thick fog of cigarette smoke,the place rank with the scent of body odor,cheap liquor,piss,and despair. 

Home away from home. 

He found a table in the corner,between the pool table with the torn green felt and the old jukebox currently (and somewhat anachronistically) blaring the Stones's "Gimme Shelter",and nursed an overpriced beer with a nice,strong kick.Too bad he was immune to alcohol. 

As it turned out,he was in an opportune position to see many men go down a narrow hall in the back.By smell alone he could tell led to the restrooms,but he noticed several burly guys who could have been lumberjacks out on the town go past the men's room door and enter a door that was marked 'Janitor's Closet'.A golden painted door. 

If that was a 'janitor's closet',he was a used car salesman. 

Logan gulped down the rest of his beer,and went to see what that door really led to. 

As soon as he opened the door,he could smell the scent of too many hot bodies too close together; the stench of sweat was stronger here,filled with more adrenaline and beer.And he could hear the rumble of men talking,booing and cheering,layering the meaty sound of flesh slamming flesh:somebody was fighting somebody else,and the small but packed crowd was enjoying it.  
He went down the rickety wooden staircase,lit only by a naked bulb dangling from a socket overhead,and found himself entering a world that seemed to be straight out of his own recent past. 

The entire basement level had been modeled into what was touted as an 'Ultimate Fighting' (the new,fancy ass name for bare knuckle boxing) pit,with a loose collection of wooden bleachers arranged around the side,so the 'pit' was the focal point. 

The pit was a standard looking-if slightly broken down looking-boxing ring,the red ropes looking saggy where they joined the corner posts,all surrounded by what looked like a wall of chicken wire with a makeshift door cut into one side.The chicken wire didn't quite reach the strip of florescent lights embedded in the ceiling,but stopped about twenty feet up,and there was no ceiling to it either.But then again,it was only chicken wire,and any determined person could throw something in if they really wanted to. 

As he made his way through the pew like benches,most of the men drinking openly from beer bottles,many standing to egg on or jeer the fighters,Logan found himself disgusted by the fighters.No,only the one that was apparently winning. 

A real Golem,he was over six foot and nearly half as wide,built like a bulldozer and either a mutant or severe weightlifter/steroid abuser,because normal people did not have deltoid muscles almost as big as an average human head,nor did men generally have pectoral muscles so big they needed a bra. 

Golem had small,pig like eyes,colorless in the harsh lighting,his buzz cut a sort of dirty straw color that looked like a fungus growing on his scalp.He wore jeans far too tight for such a venue, and had long ago stripped off his shirt. 

The other man-darker,leaner,with a more realistic build-was bleeding from a small gash on his forehead (courtesy of the chicken wire beyond the ropes,most likely) as Golem kicked him hard in the balls.When his opponent doubled over,Golem drove two fingers into his throat, making him fall to the mat gagging and gasping desperately for breath as over half of the crowd belligerently cheered,and Golem strutted around the blood and sweat flecked ring like a fucking peacock. 

He was fighting as dirty as a grade school geek,and yet he was still obviously quite proud of himself.For some reason,that really pissed Logan off. 

"Hey,"a man said,getting up into his face.He was small and somehow rodential,with slicked back black hair and eyes like dots of black ink on his pale,round face."No one rides for free.You bettin'?" 

Ratboy held out a construction helmet full of money;Logan guessed there to be close to two hundred dollars in there. 

Easy money. 

"No,I'm fighting,"he said,which made Ratboy stare at him in disbelief,even as Logan looked past him,and shouted towards the ring:"Hey,asshole,do you know how to really fight,or can you only do this sissy bullshit stuff?" 

Ratboy quickly stepped aside,out of the potential line of fire,as both the crowd and the Golem all stared at him.The crowd went strangely quiet,sensing the gathering storm of rage,as the Golem shaded his eyes with his hand,trying to make Logan out in the darkness of the crowd. 

"You talk big,little man,"Golem taunted lamely,and some of the crowd actually 'ooo'ed' like teenagers watching their friends fight in the halls. 

Logan knew he was not little;only in the sense that he was not infected with the same grotesque gigantism this steroid freak was."Can you fight a real man,fuckface?" 

"Yeah.Where is he?"Golem responded,and the crowd laughed. 

As the other man was helped from the ring,gagging and spitting blood,Logan took off his leather jacket and threw it on Ratboy,whom he gathered to be the 'ringmaster'."I don't know,"Logan replied,pulling his black t-shirt off over his head."I only know he ain't in the ring." 

The crowd 'ooo'ed' again and moved aside as he walked the rest of the way down the makeshift aisle,and stepped up on the inverted orange crate that was this sorry 'pit's' excuse for stairs leading into the ring. 

Being a dirty fighter,he expected Golem to charge him as soon as he tried to step in between the red ropes,and Golem did not disappoint him.But as he charged,Logan bided his time,and then lunged at the last second,shoulder first between the ropes.The top of his head caught Golem's midsection hard. 

Maybe if he had a normal skull,it would have had little to no effect on the steroid monster,but since his skull was adamantium plated,all the air in Golem's lungs seemed to empty in an 'ooof' as he staggered back,grabbing his stomach like he might vomit. 

Logan thought he heard some unrest in the crowd,but he didn't care,and in this glaring square of light,it was impossible to see them.They were a dark and murmuring blur,a crowd of idiot crows. 

Golem seemed to recover enough to launch a groin kick,but Logan had seem him fight for thirty seconds and already knew his limited repertoire of moves.Mountain of muscle or not,he wouldn't last half as long in a real,honest to god fight. 

He snagged his leg in midair and simply pulled him forward,so he slammed down to the canvas back first,and Logan could have ended the fight right there;a boot to the head,and goodnight fucking nurse.But oh no-that wasn't nearly enough pain.He wanted Steroid Boy to get fully humiliated.So he simply dropped his leg and walked away,as if bored,and the crowd booed,wanting to see blood. 

"You don't even know how to fight,do you,asshole?"Logan snapped,turning back to Golem as he struggled to his feet.His face was flushed a deep crimson in rage,and seemed to be almost shaking with it as he roared and rushed Logan,hands the size of canned hams balled into fists. 

Logan casually spun into a high kick that caught him in the side of his oversized jaw and snapped it on impact with a loud crack,like someone had just broken a branch over their knee. 

The crowd,although still muttering like street people off their meds,was growing increasingly quiet,as it was finally dawning on them their 'champion' was getting his ass beat into ground chuck by a stranger who had yet to break a sweat. 

Golem fell into and almost through the ropes,grabbing his jaw as blood started trickling through his meaty fingers,and Logan glared at him like the stupid maggot he was."Had enough?" He wondered coldly. 

Anger flared behind the pain in his pale blue eyes-Golem obviously was not used to getting beat in 'his' ring-and he launched himself off the ropes,throwing a wild 'haymaker' punch towards Logan's face. 

He easily ducked under it and gave Golem two rabbit punches to the body before moving away,giving Golem room to stagger like a drunken sailor who hadn't quite gotten his land legs yet.Golem took the opportunity to lean over and spit out blood and a couple of random teeth,garishly bright on the white covered mat. 

The crowd was so quiet now you could have thought they were gone,but Logan could still smell them,feel their eyes impale him in the darkness.They were horrified,and yet morbidly fascinated;it was like a bloody car accident they could not avert their eyes from. 

"Give it up,Hulk,"Logan told him."Otherwise you're gonna be leavin' feet first." 

But Golem,lacking the sense of a turkey,charged him again,throwing another wild punch,but as Logan ducked that,the bastard brought up his knee and caught him in the balls. 

As the sudden shock of pain spread up and out from his testicles,Logan was so instantaneously furious he saw red-literally.He should have expected the cowardly bastard to do that;he should have caught it. 

He staggered back a step,then kicked out at Golem's knee,which cracked like a twig on impact.He screamed as best he could with a broken jaw and crashed down to one knee on the canvas,and Logan threw a left upper cut that caught him right beneath the good side of his jaw.His head snapped back,and the Golem's eyes instantly rolled up in his head before he hit the mat on his back,with the solid thud of a felled redwood hitting the ground. 

It was his choice:he was leaving first,just like Logan warned him.He looked dead,but he was clearly breathing-also,he was still bleeding,and the muscles in his broken leg continued to spasm. 

The room was so quiet you could have heard a beer cap drop upstairs.They were shocked stupid.Not a far drop,from what he could tell. 

Logan threw open the chicken wire cage door,not bothering to go through the ropes,and simply said,"Next." 

Sometimes,it was just too damn easy. 

    3 

    Logan thought after spending a good chunk of the night fighting redneck assholes,he'd be tired.And to a certain degree,he was.But he was more keyed up than anything;he wanted a good fight,one with a decent opponent.He felt like he had just shaken down a elementary school class.For all their bulky muscles and hard fat,not a single one of those assholes could actually fight worth a damn.But wasn't that always the way?That's why this was such easy money. 

After the crowd left-after he made mincemeat out of a half a dozen guys,everyone,even the real drunks,lost their collective nerve-he retreated to the grotty men's room upstairs,taking his shirt and jacket with him but not putting them on,not yet. 

He laid them over one sink as he turned on the taps in another,and got a sandpaper rough paper towel from the dented white dispenser on the wall.He soaked the pale tan towel under the running faucets,enough to get it wet although not sopping,and proceeded to wipe the flecks of blood off his chest,arms,and shoulders.He didn't want to smell it for days,and he would if he allowed it to soak into his shirt. 

He glanced at himself in the mirror,to see if he had any blood on his face,and felt a rush of strange emotions,mostly nausea and self-pity. 

What a pathetic piece of shit he was. 

So this was his idea of fun,huh?Beating up testosterone drunk assholes in seedy bars,taking their money,and giving himself a quasi-sponge bath in the fucking men's room because he didn't want to get his one shirt dirty.He was almost more of a low life than these guys were. 

("And you don't have to be,Logan-you never had to be." ) 

That felt like a memory-something someone had said to him once.A woman.A woman with a unfamiliar voice. 

Why didn't he just act like a real,normal person?Why was he content to travel with nothing more than the clothes on his back,and why couldn't he ever stay anywhere for any length of time?Why was he so fucking paranoid? 

("A moving target is harder to hit.") 

The woman again,with a big 'duh' statement.And he knew why he was paranoid-because someone was always out to capture or kill him.He let down his guard once,and those fuckers got him;the next thing he knew,he was chained down to a pallet in a vat of some warm,thick green fluid,surrounded by guys in Hazmat suits and armed with scalpels... 

"What the fuck?"He asked himself,stunned. 

The one time he let his guard down..? 

What did he remember? 

Angel said he had a sort of 'hunted' look when he supposedly saw him back in the sixties-was that true?Was he on the run from someone?Those government assholes,were they after him even then? 

He stared into his own green eyes,and snarled at his own reflection,wondering again who he used to be."Stupid fucker.You deserved it,didn't you?"He spat,wanting to punch the mirror.But it was unbreakable-not a true mirror,a slab of plastic with a reflective surface.Maybe he was not the first guy to want to do it. 

God,he was so tired.But it wasn't physical;he was tired of himself,of this-all of this. 

Fuck him,fuck whoever he used to be.Maybe it was best he never knew at all.It could only be a disappointment. 

He finished cleaning the blood off his chest and forearms,briefly wiping the wet paper towel over his face to catch the few droplets of blood in the stubble of his beard,and then slung the wet wad of paper into the tin garbage can so hard it wobbled on its base.It nearly fell over before it reluctantly settled,with a sound like a hubcap rolling and coming to rest on its rim.  
He didn't even bother to dry off;he just yanked his shirt on over his head,so hard he almost tore it,and shrugged on his leather jacket before he stormed out of the piss reeking men's room,into the seedy bar proper. 

Ratboy,whom everyone called Vince,was waiting for him by the bar,talking to a dark skinned bartender/bouncer as bald as a cue ball and built like a tank.He gave Logan the evil eye as he approached. 

Ratboy Vince,who was clearly scared of him,held out a wad of thick,colorful bills towards him,as if he wanted Logan to stay at least an arm's length away."Don't ever come back here again,"Vince said,in the strongest voice he could muster,even though Logan could smell his fear.If the huge mountain of a bartender wasn't behind him,he could never have said it at all. 

Logan snatched the money from his hand with more violence than necessary,just to make Vince draw back in more obvious fear."Lucky for you,I'm just passing through,"he said,counting the money as he turned his back on them and walked away.He didn't know if they knew he was a mutant or not,and he didn't honestly care:Vince was just pissed off that he showed what fucking lightweights his guys were. 

Ratboy had taken quite a chunk of the proceeds-too damn much,in Logan's opinion-but he had made nearly three hundred dollars.Not bad for three hours' work. 

He decided he was hungry,still craving a good beer,and in desperate need of some real action;he wanted-no,he needed-to think about something other than himself.He thought he would explode if he thought about his pathetic existence right now. 

As he approached his motorcycle,he sensed the movement of a shadow in the darkness by the bar,and a woman said,"How did I know I'd find you here?"He stared hard into the shadows, until the woman emerged-Naomi,a/k/a Electra. 

He couldn't help but smile,seeing a friendly face for a change."I guess you know me too well." 

She looked different from the last time he'd seen her,back in Los Angeles almost a month ago. Her long brown hair had been cut short,into an almost spiky,punky cut,and she had dyed in a deep red,so dark it almost looked maroon.It was odd,but seemed to suit her blue eyes well. 

She was dressing tougher too;tight blue jeans and black,thick soled Lug boots,with a black leather shirt contrasted against a red leather jacket with a few more zippers than necessary gave her a sort of dangerous look that was really,really sexy on her. 

Of course,his last memories of her were...well,entertaining,to say the least.God,they'd had some fun.It reminded him of an old country song he'd been subjected to at some redneck bar:"It ain't love,but it ain't bad." 

But the smile froze on his face as he saw the worry lines in the corners of her dark circled eyes, belying the tiny smile on her face.Something was wrong;she hadn't tracked him down for a nostalgic jump in the sack.Too bad:that would have been a nice way to think about something else.To simply get lost in her body and forget everything-at least for the time being."Need a lift?"He asked her,shoving the wad of cash in his pocket as he straddled his motorcycle. 

She thought about it."Where are you going?" 

He shrugged."I'm hungry.Maybe I'll go get some Chinese food."Chinatown was just down the street."Want to join me?" 

She gave him a faint smile,but it was warm,genuine."Okay.But you're buying." 

"Hey,"he protested,mostly for comic effect. 

She climbed onto the back of his bike as he kicked started it,and wrapped her arms around his chest."I saw that big wad you just shoved in your pocket;you can afford it,cheapskate.Shame on you,beating up stupid ass drunks for their money." 

"They asked for it." 

"Fair enough." 

She pressed hard against his back,and he let the engine idle for a moment,just enjoying the familiar feeling of having her body against his once more.She didn't need to hold on so tight;she eased off a bit,as though it had been a hug,a brief but fierce squeeze.She rested her head against the back of his shoulder,and he realized she was as tired as he was,maybe even more so.And in her own tacit way,she was letting him know she had missed him too. 

The mutant freaks really did have to stick together:the world had made it clear it was "us" versus "them". 

After a moment,he drove off,leaving the Golden Door far behind. 

    **** 

    There were few places still open at this time of night,but they found a Szchewan place still lit up,and they had dinner there,in a room done up in red brocade and gold satin,with tacky paper dragons and lanterns hanging from the ceiling.But it smelled clean,and they were the only people there,save for the cook and the waitress. 

The food was good too-spicy as hell and really fresh-even though Logan thought it was funny they only served Japanese beer (but at least it was good Japanese beer).Since the waitress went back into the kitchen to talk to the cook,they were able to catch up and enjoy the silence at the same time. 

Naomi had found her family-they lived outside Montreal,and while she was apparently not the only mutant in the family,the family kept it quiet,so as not to suffer persecution.But it wasn't enough,apparently;there were 'men' after her since she was a teenager.She ran away a lot,and was able to avoid and/or escape them,her family helping when they could. 

But not everyone was that lucky. 

"I have a sister,Madalyn-Maddy,"she said,stabbing her chopsticks into her spicy cellophane noodles."She's barely two years older than me."She looked up at him,and he knew,by the sadness in her eyes,what she was going to say before she said it."They took her,Logan." 

"When?"The goddamn bastards;they couldn't leave them in peace.How he wanted to find them and hurt them;hurt them so bad they wouldn't even think about bothering mutants ever again. 

"That's just it.No one's sure,"she replied,letting her chopsticks fall on the plate with a clink as she reached for her beer.She took a stiff gulp before she told him,"They fucked with the minds of my family.Even my mom couldn't remember her existing,but I found photographs and a copy of a birth certificate they forgot to take with them in the bottom of a trunk of my late grandmother's."  



	2. Part 2

"Shit,"he murmured under his breath.He'd never heard of normal people getting their brains fucked over,but why the hell not?It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility.Besides,maybe that's what they did when it came to him-they went around erasing the memories of everyone who had ever known Logan What's-His-Name.And then they erased his... 

"I'm not sure what her abilities are either.Not like mine.My grandmother made some cryptic notes;she mentioned my 'strange affinity' for electricity,but all she said about Maddy was "people are never the same after touching her".I don't know what that means." 

Logan chewed a chunk of his Szechewan chicken thoughtfully,wondering if maybe Maddy had an ability like Rogue.Anything was possible,right? 

"But I'm afraid they may have really taken her because of me,because the fucking bastards couldn't get me,"she continued,her blue eyes filling with tears of rage.And he knew it was rage,because the electric lantern a few feet away from their table flickered,like the filament was actually a living thing,a lightning bug wanting out.When she was upset-or emotionally excited in any capacity-everything electrical around her was affected,and not usually for the better.  
That's why the government assholes wanted her so bad-the amount of electricity she could channel was immense,mind boggling,frightening;she could channel electricity one hundred times lethal,and be completely unaffected.She could not be electrocuted,and she could take out the power grid of an entire city and barely break a sweat.She was a walking electrical conductor, and while she could be drained,she always recharged.Next to Cyclops,she was the most powerful mutant he had ever met (but she had more control of it,wasn't uptight,and was not a dickhead). 

He could remember that sometimes when she kissed him,when she touched his bare skin, sometimes there would be accidental sparks-she was so electrically charged she couldn't help it.He could remember feeling the small burn on his lips and tongue,like a powerful static shock,and feel the sparks sizzle and jump across his skin;the pain was minor,almost negligible,and not only did he get used to it,but by the second day of their long 'lost' weekend,he found he sort of liked it.It was strange,erotic,powerful.He knew that was probably kinky,but hell,why not? He was probably a kinky sort of guy. 

"They may have just taken her because they're motherfucking assholes,"he reassured her,trying to hold his anger in check.It was hard,but Naomi was the one who deserved to be angry;he was second place at best."Don't you dare blame yourself for this." 

"I'm sorry,Logan,I shouldn't be involving you in this,"she said,wiping away the tears before they could fall. 

"I want to be involved.And if these are the same bastards that took me,I'm already involved anyways,"he pointed out,fighting to keep the anger from his voice and failing miserably."You didn't track me down just to spill your guts,did you?" 

She gave him a sly look,overlapping the sad."You know I tracked you down?" 

"I guessed.It'd be a hell of a coincidence if we were both here at the same time." 

She acknowledged that with a rolling shrug of her shoulders."I called L.A. to see if you were still there.Cordelia told me you'd gone up to Vancouver in hopes of finding some hints about your past.Also,she added you don't call,you don't write,you're being a complete and total ass." 

He couldn't help but smirk."Sounds like Cordy." 

"She likes you,you know." 

"No."He found that hard to believe.Had she ever acted like she liked him more than the other guys?Well,there was that kiss that one time,but it was a goodbye kiss-or it was supposed to be,at any rate."Why would she?" 

"Because you're as sexy as hell,"she replied casually,and for a moment their eyes locked.He could almost sense the tension,making his skin feel hot and tight,and he wanted to pay the check right now,so they could get the fuck out of here and go back to his motel room and pick up where they left off.The look in her eye seemed to say she would enjoy that. 

But then she shook her head,cleared her throat,and tried to look as sober as possible-which was,sadly,very much sober."Look,Logan,I don't want this to get in the way.Emotions can make people do stupid things." 

"Lust is an emotion?" 

She had to think about that for a moment."I don't know.But you know what I mean.I think we'd better keep things hands off for now." 

"Is that what you want?" 

She seemed to study his face before glancing down at his hands,and then hers.She picked up her chopsticks and started making strategic rearrangements of snow peas."I think it's for the best." 

"That's not what I asked." 

She knew that,but she didn't want to answer that question."I just want your help to find the area I'm looking for.You don't have to-" 

"I'm in for the whole deal,"he interrupted.Maybe a nostalgic screw was out of the question,but that didn't matter.If he could track down any of the fucks who had done this to him,who sicced Shrike on them,who took Naomi's sister,it would all be worth it. 

She glanced up at him warily,but she looked touched."Logan,I don't want you to risk your life in any way.This could get ugly." 

He sat back,smirking at her."Well,how in the hell could I say no to that?You're a born seducer, Naomi." 

She smiled back at him,almost laughing."I should have known the idea of trouble would be irresistible to you." 

"Hell yeah,sign me up for a steamin' hunk of that." 

Her smile fell away as she looked back down at her plate."Do you think she's dead?" 

Rather than even speculate on that,he asked,"What do you know about what happened to her?" 

She sighed,putting her chopsticks back down and reaching for her beer.She held the half empty glass in her hand,but didn't drink out of it;she just seemed to be drawing comfort from it somehow."Everyone's mind has been so screwed with regarding her it's been difficult to get anything together.But from what I've been able to dig up,she was last seen in an area of Alberta referred to as the 'Big Empty'.Heard of it?" 

He thought of that for a moment.Alberta-home of Alkali Lake.What was it about that area they loved so much?The remoteness,of course,but there had to be more.Maybe there was something he had overlooked;something they had all overlooked."Near the Lake?Or is it a reference to a base?" 

She shrugged helplessly."I didn't know.I was hoping you might." 

Logan frowned as he considered it,aware of how untrustworthy his own memory was."Maybe we should have a look around." 

"Winter's coming on,and it's a big place." 

"Tell me about it." 

"I don't want-" 

"You want to find your sister?Stop worrying about my life,Naomi-nobody's killed me yet.Let's worry about Maddy's." 

She glanced at him,frowning in concern,weighing his words.She knew he was right. 

"You didn't find me just to discourage me from helping you,"he pointed out. 

Of course he had her,and there was no way she could deny that."I just started having a bad feeling about this,Logan,"she admitted reluctantly."What if it's another trap?" 

"What if it is?None of them have worked before." 

"There's a first time for everything." 

"But not today.Or tomorrow.We're the two biggest bad asses they've ever tried to take on. Hell, they were never able to get you in the first place.I feel sorry for the pricks already." 

She smiled shyly,almost laughing."That's why I needed to find you,Logan." 

"My rakish charm?"He wondered,smiling in return as he dug out money for the check.He had a feeling they were done here. 

"Your sense of humor,"she replied,although her smile was very warm. 

"I have one?Wow-who knew?"He tossed the money on the table,and threw on an extra couple of bucks,because he wasn't going to bother figuring out a tip.Hell,he'd just fought a werewolf and several drunk guys;figuring out a tip was so mundane it bordered on absurd. 

He finished off his beer and got up,and Naomi followed suit.It was reflex for him to offer her a hand up,and equal reflex for her to take it.When her fingers touched his,there was a small blue spark that he felt as a short,sharp pain,but nothing he couldn't handle. 

She instantly withdrew her hand."Oh,I'm sorry." 

"Don't be.I got used to it." 

For a moment,she just looked at him,and then glanced away,as if ashamed,embarrassed,or scared:he really couldn't tell which."Umm,could you give me a lift back to my hotel?"She asked,staring at a paper dragon like it had suddenly gotten interesting. 

"Sure."He wanted to do more than just drop her off there,but if she wanted to play it that way,fine.In a way,it unsettled him that he missed her,but he had.He felt comfortable around her,like there were things he just didn't have to explain-she knew.But he understood what she meant about it getting in the way;it could.Still,it would have been nice."Where are you holed up?" 

"The Hilton West." 

"Nice place." 

"And where are you-wait,let me guess:some fleabag motel that has hourly rates available?"She asked,looking up enough to give him a sly smile,and he was honestly glad to see it back. 

"It's not a fleabag hotel,"he protested,most of his annoyance faked (some of it was real)."Just because it has hourly-" 

He trailed off as she raised an eyebrow at him."Okay,it ain't classy.But I've been in worse places." 

"Which is what bothers me.You don't have to live like that,Logan." 

He swore he could hear the words echo in his head;words spoken by another woman in another lifetime.He tried to internally shake off the eerie feeling that gave him."Does that mean I should stay at your hotel tonight?"He smiled,trying to pass it off as a joke,but he couldn't quite bury the hope. 

She actually seemed to consider it for a moment,and then he saw in her eyes the preparation for the gentle let down."Logan-" 

"We'd better get some sleep-it's a long way to Alberta,"he interrupted, heading towards the door. It spared her having to say it and him having to hear it. 

Maybe this 'friends only' thing could work.Maybe. 

But he wasn't about to hold his breath. 

    4 

    Holding on tightly to Logan as he maneuvered the bike through morning traffic,which seemed to be standing still compared to them,Naomi wondered if she'd ever get over the strange enigma of Logan. 

She couldn't say she loved him-maybe,given time,and a normal life,she could-but something about him never failed to instantly attract her,and it puzzled her.She didn't like guys with sideburns-normally-and what was the deal with his hair? 

But there was something about him that drew her like a moth to a flame.What? 

She thought maybe it was a residual of the false memories Shrike had planted in her head-she had thought Logan and Shrike were her heroes for so long...no,wait,not for so long,just since she encountered Shrike (this was so confusing!)-but no;even when she knew that was a lie,she still felt drawn to him.It was him,of course;unlike Shrike,he was a hero.She got to see that first hand.He was one of the bravest men she had ever met,if also the strangest. 

But he had his reasons. 

She noticed he was wearing different shirts this morning-a black t-shirt,just like the one last night,with a brown plaid flannel shirt over it,as he was a big believer in layers-but they smelled new.His shirt last night smelled of cigar smoke and stale beer;he was such a hopeless bachelor.And yet,he'd gone out this morning and bought new shirts,presumably because of her (although she didn't expect him to admit that).It was kind of touching. 

But it wasn't that he was really a hopeless bachelor,was it?It was just that he didn't know how to stop running,how to stop living like a hunted animal. 

That was another thing about him;sometimes looking at him made her feel so sad,and she knew if he knew he'd resent her for it.But she couldn't quite stop it. 

She held on tight as he weaved in and out of traffic at speeds that were beyond legal,but she had no fear,as she trusted Logan to know what he was doing.Also,he would never hurt her-of that she was sure.At least,not deliberately. 

Ahead of them,the lightly overcast sky gave way to clear,but rather than blue it was a bright,clear pink,a sort of high saturation color rarely seen outside of dreams.It brought to mind that old children's rhyme/mnemonic: "Pink sky at morning,sailors take warning".In other words,a storm was brewing.She wondered if that was true.Well,she guessed they'd find out. 

The wind screaming by them was bitterly cold,biting into her skin,so she rested her cheek against his back,and just generally tried to hide behind his warm body.Luckily,he was broad shouldered enough to be a very good windscreen.Looking at the scenery streaming by was pointless-it became a beige-green blur when they passed by strips of weedy overgrowth struggling to live at the sides of the road,and a multicolored blur when they passed nothing but cars-so she closed her eyes,and enjoyed the sensation of rapid forward motion.If she really concentrated and blocked everything else out,it felt like she was flying. 

She had to be careful,though,because she was almost tired enough to fall asleep.Although she slept fairly well last night-beer had that effect on her-she woke up just before dawn,and found herself unable to get back to sleep.Part of her regretted not taking Logan up on his offer,while another part of her cursed her for getting him involved in this in the first place. 

Truth be told,she was terrified:of 'them' (the government men-she did not know what to call them,but neither did Logan,so she felt a little better about that),of what they might have done to her sister,and what they might do to her if they somehow captured her. 

But worst of all,what would they do to Logan if they caught him again? 

He didn't know-she never told him-but his nightmares startled her,made her feel a sort of angry pity for him,which,again,she knew he'd resent.Logan didn't want much from people in general, just mainly what she wanted-to be left alone.But the idea of someone pitying him would probably send him flying into a rage she couldn't blame him for. 

The first time he woke her having one of his nightmares,she thought it was due to all they had been through,all that fucking bastard Shrike had done to them.She put an arm around him, pressing up against his back,and whispered that they were safe,that everything was okay.It worked,maybe for five minutes.And then she realized whatever kind of nightmares he was having,they were something she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.Veins in his arms and neck corded,standing out in relief as his muscles bunched beneath his skin as if he was straining against shackles that weighed a ton,and sweat beaded on his forehead as his head jerked and his eyes moved rapidly beneath his lids,searching desperately for escape.The noises he made- aborted grunts like swallowed screams-chilled her blood as she realized he was not really not dreaming:he was reliving something. 

She considered waking him up,but they were his memories,as awful as they obviously were;was he not entitled to his memories,since he had so few?And,watching his hands clench,so tightly she would swear she saw the ghosts of his claws beneath the thin skin of his knuckles,she realized waking him might also be dangerous. 

She carefully slid out of bed,taking the blanket with her (he usually tossed it off anyways),and went to sleep in the armchair in the corner of their room at the Hyperion,at least until he was past this.But she couldn't sleep,as tired as she was.She just ended up watching him,caught in the throes of a memory/nightmare he could not escape,feeling a sorrow and pity for him so deep it was like an ache under her breastbone,solid and malignant.The bastards;the fucking bastards. 

What had they done to him? 

She knew about the surgeries,about grafting on a new metal skeleton while he was conscious enough to experience every agonizing bit of it,although she was still unsure what purpose that would serve,except perhaps make him insane.And that was bad enough.But she suspected there was more,much more;things he hadn't even begun to realize,at least not outside the realm of sleep. 

It took her a long time to figure it out,but she thought she had:they had wanted to make a monster.They wanted to reduce him to a shell of a man;a psychotic beast that they probably thought they could control somehow,some way.It didn't work.Or if it had,not for long. 

She thought about talking to him about it,the nightmares and memories,but that almost seemed like a violation of his privacy-if he didn't bring it up,she wasn't going to,and he never did. Besides,she didn't know how to keep the pity out of her voice when she talked about it.But how could she not feel terrible for him and what he must have been through,and rage at those fucking monsters on his behalf? 

Then,on the final day they were together,she goaded him into letting her shave off his facial hair when they were taking a shower together;she just had to know what he looked like under there. 

In retrospect,she wished she hadn't. 

It wasn't that he was not a handsome man-on the contrary,he was beautiful.A sweet,sad man who looked all too human,enough to shock her when she realized this was what the old Logan looked like.The one he was searching for,and the one he would probably never find; pre-government,pre-Wolverine,a man so hard done by it was beyond comprehension.It was like an echo in time,a displacement,and the sudden sadness she felt for him was almost overwhelming;she felt like crying for him.Logan saw it on her face and asked her what was wrong."Am I that ugly?"He joked,smiling. 

She simply hugged him,kissing him as the water pounded down on their faces,and kept her eyes tightly closed to hold back the tears. 

His stubble grew back extraordinarily fast;obviously it was the result of one of the things they had done to him,or some weird offshoot of his regenerative capabilities.But later that night,she decided it was time to move on,before she got stuck there and never did. 

But how strange was it to mourn a man you never knew?And who wasn't precisely dead, just... lost? 

It was very strange:sometimes she didn't know if she was dealing with the first Logan-the one before-or the one 'after',which she couldn't help but think of as the fragmented one,although that was far from his fault.The fact that any of him survived,in any capacity,was a credit to his strength and determination. 

She though she had seen glimpses of the 'old' Logan,although it could have been her imagination.But every now and then,his touch was almost too gentle-at least for him-his voice too soft,his concern almost foreign coming from him-or,should she say,coming from 'Wolverine'.  
If her hypothesis was right,the old Logan was a very gentle man,possibly even sweet-which made what happened to him all the more egregious.Maybe she was wrong;maybe the old Logan was a complete asshole.But that still didn't excuse what they did to him. 

A vicious circle,because even thinking about that made her wonder what they had done to her sister. 

She opened her eyes as the wind around them turned colder,and she saw that Logan had taken a short cut that wound through what looked like a small forest of some sort,or maybe a state park,where the trees passed by like towering blurs of black,brown,and green,and the road beneath them was an endless black ribbon,rushing under the wheels like an angry river. 

He said something,but she didn't hear it,the scream of the wind tearing away his words like wet paper.But she felt the rumble of his voice in his chest,and leaned up to all but scream in his ear,"What?" 

He turned his head back towards her,the stiff stubble of his beard scraping against her cheek,and yelled,"We're being followed." 

She glanced over his shoulder at the side view mirror,and could barely make out anything behind him;it was all a blur of motion with few colors and even less sense.But she thought she could see a black vehicle somewhere in the center of all the visual pollution. 

"What do we do?"She shouted back.Part of her thought they should run,while another part of her wanted to pull over and attack the bastards. 

"Well,I could go turbo and lose 'em,or go off road and lose 'em,"he shouted,his voice shredded enough by the wind that it sounded like he was hardly speaking at all. 

"But you have a better idea?"She shouted back.She thought she heard the hesitation in his voice,as mangled as it was. 

"Was what Shrike said about you fucking up engines true?"He shouted in reply. 

Then she got an idea what he had in mind.Also,she knew why she was reluctant to stay with him,and yet he was the only name that came to mind when she realized she was going to have to hunt down her own sister. 

Logan liked to live dangerously. 

    5 

    Logan came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road,rear tire screaming and leaving a cee shaped skidmark on the road as the bike slewed around to face the oncoming black van,burning rubber and nearly throwing them and the bike over.But Logan stopped it expertly,and put his leg out just in time to keep from going over,and she was hanging on to him so hard she was cutting off blood circulation to her own wrists. 

If you were going to fight an army,he was the guy you wanted to back you up. 

She stood up on the back of the bike,prying her hands off from around his chest,and held her arms down at her sides as she let the hate loose,letting it rage through her bloodstream like the electricity it was,flushing her skin and suddenly feeling much too hot,even though she'd been freezing just a millisecond before. 

The driver of the black van suddenly braked,aware they were up to something,but with a loud squeal of brakes and tread shedding,momentum continued to carry them forward,dead center towards them.She felt incandescent,like a star in the sky. 

She could feel electricity everywhere:from the power lines buried deep below the ground, thrumming like the circulatory system of some great,slumbering beast;to the weak electrical charge within atoms themselves,all gathering around her like pets,like children.In this mode,she saw everything as negatives,or perhaps as infrared;intensity based on the electricity within them.The air was a fuzzy sort of bluish-white (although there would be a storm-she could see the gathering electricity in the clouds above like a reflection of neon blue),Logan and the bike hot spots of volcanic red-orange,the van a blurry negative of red and orange,like a badly sketched outline,brightest in the front,where the engine lurked under the hood. 

As the electricity crawled over her skin,a caress as comforting as any Human touch,she focused her rage,eyes narrowing as she concentrated on that hot spot under the hood like a sniper taking aim. She hoped what Logan told her about the bike-that it was like no other-was true,because she knew,as narrowly targeted as it was,she might accidentally fry their electrical system as well.She hoped Logan knew how to fix the bike,just in case. 

She held out her hand just as the van was thrown squealing into reverse,and released a sliver of blue light that slammed into the van's hood like a lightning bolt. 

Thin tendrils of blue snaked over the van's front end as the bulk of the energy went underneath, and the vehicle died suddenly,with smoke erupting from beneath the hood in a huge black plume,like a volcano erupting in miniature. 

Logan put down the kickstand and said,"Nice job." 

"It's not over yet,"she said,jumping off the bike so Logan could dismount it without touching her,either deliberately or accidently;energy still crawled over her skin,crackled in her hair,and while she was sure she was not lethally charged,she would give a powerful shock to anyone who dared to touch her. 

She let Logan lead the way,stalking towards the van as she heard the back slide open,and as he got close the front door suddenly opened,head right towards Logan at full force.While it surprised her,it didn't surprise him in the least. 

He snapped out with his hand-to catch it was her first thought-but his nine inch silver claws shot out from his knuckles,and in a single sweep of his hand cut the door in half,like it had been made of nothing more than tin foil.What part of the window didn't shatter as soon as he cut it in half fragmented on impact with the pavement,and Logan kicked aside the half door as he went around to face the driver. 

The driver,clad all in black and obviously thinking he was ready to face Logan,lunged at him from the driver's seat,paralyzer out and crackling like static over an open line.But Logan, avoiding the paralyzer,simply grabbed the man by the front of his commando sweater and tossed him onto the side of the roadway like a sack of garbage."Oh,come on,that's all you've got?"Logan snapped,sounding genuinely disappointed. 

The man in the passenger seat got out,wielding what looked like a spear gun,but she knew from a little research it shot adamantium tanglewire nets,meant to subdue the most violent mutants, Logan included.But the man seemed to be looking at her.Oh please. 

A small ball of energy shot from her outstretched fingertips as she approached the van,and it hit net boy straight in the chest.He froze for a moment,looking out from beneath his ski mask with bulging hazel eyes,and then collapsed to the road,on top of his own net gun.He wasn't dead,but by the time he woke up and regained control of all of his muscles,they could go to Mexico. 

"Come on plebe,you know the drill,"Logan said,throwing the driver-who couldn't have been a day over twenty five (Logan had ripped his mask off,revealing a blond young man who currently looked overwhelmed and terrified)-hard into the smoking front of the van."Who do you work for,blah blah blah." 

The man spun away from the hood and threw a punch that connected with Logan's jaw,accompanied by a loud snap,like a tree branch breaking.But while that only made Logan take a step back,the young man grabbed his hand and dropped to his knees,screaming in pain.  
"See,if you'd done your homework,you'd have known not to do that,"Logan admonished him,with absolutely no sympathy. 

More black clad men suddenly appeared from out of the back,many with the net guns,others with paralyzers,and still others with what looked like some type of dart gun.Drugs? 

She didn't wait to find out-she simply shot out a bolt of electricity that went down the line,jumping from man to man,as they were close enough together to allow her to 'skip' the arc between them.People,being mostly water,were excellent electrical conductors in their own right. 

Then she reached down and pried the net gun out from beneath the first fallen commando,and hoped another was still conscious somewhere,as she wanted to give one of them a taste of their own medicine.She noticed blue sparks jump from the metal barrel of the weapon as she touched it,but she felt nothing:electricity was too much a part of her to be harmful. 

Logan had lifted the commando to his feet,and held him up by the collar,pinned against the ruined cab of the van.Sadly,it looked like she had gotten the rest of the soldiers (damn).But she held on to the net gun just in case. 

"Come on,boy-you want to live?You'll talk."Logan growled,getting right into the terrified kids face."Who do you work for?" 

The kid shook his head desperately,almost in tears."They'll kill me...I can't,I can't..." 

"I'll kill you if you don't,"Logan snapped,slamming him hard against the van,enough to put a small dent in the paneling.But now the kid was honestly crying,and it was just pathetic.Even Logan looked disgusted."Fine,kid-tell me what you know about the Big Empty." 

He continued shaking his head,blond bangs flopping into his terrified blue eyes."I don't know anything..." 

And that's when Logan grabbed his broken hand. 

Not hard,it was just a mild squeeze,but the scream was so painful Naomi flinched and looked away,swallowing back a sudden surge of bile in her throat.She didn't want to see this,but she knew she had no room to talk,having fried Shrike from the inside out like he was a potato in the microwave. 

The kid,now shaking with sobs and barely able to stand (if Logan didn't continue holding him up by the collar,he'd have hit the road again),was hardly the hardened commando either of them had expected-he was just a...what?Trainee?Cadet?Why would they send someone so inexperienced after them?It made no sense at all.Unless they really had no idea the caliber of mutants they were dealing with. 

"It's going to hurt a lot more if you don't tell me what I want to know,"Logan growled,his voice so low it was almost a whisper.Maybe that was another reason she went to Logan for help:he could do things she was relatively sure she could not. 

The kid was a mess,his now whey colored face streaked with snot and tears,but he sputtered, almost hiccuping,"Grand Cache.It's somewhere outside Grand Cache.Please don't hurt me anymore." 

She looked at Logan,as she had never heard of it.He scowled in thought,and with a final shove let the pathetic kid go.He sank instantly to the road,continuing to sob like the wreck he was, leaning up against the still smoking van for support. 

"You know of it?"She asked Logan,as he started walking back towards the bike.She followed, continuing to throw suspicious glances over her shoulder,but no one was moving,and the kid continued to sob,broken hand braced gingerly between his knees. 

"It's in the Canadian Rockies,up North,"he replied,obviously lost in thought,his eyes distant even as he straddled the bike once more."There's a hell of a lot of nothing up there,so the Big Empty name makes sense." 

"Why am I sensing a 'but' in there somewhere?"She asked,tossing the net gun aside.It was too big to take with them. 

"That's the problem-a lot of nothing.We could be searching for something for weeks." 

She hoped she wasn't charged enough to give him a shock as she got on the back of the bike, carefully wrapping her hands around his waist.She didn't see a spark,so she figured she was okay."There's no way to narrow down the search at all?" 

He kicked back the stand and started the bike.Thankfully,she had not shorted it out. "Maybe.We'll have to see when we get up there,won't we?"He glanced over his shoulder at her,favoring her with a small smile. 

She smiled back weakly,out of reflex.It was so rare to see him smile,it was hard not to return it.  
But it was like dealing with two different people at times:Logan,old and new,and Wolverine, the real 'other',brutal and sometimes vicious.But he had gotten the information they needed,so how could she complain? 

But as they drove off,continuing towards Alberta,she couldn't shake off a growing sense of unease that seemed to settle in her stomach like a lead balloon. 

    *** 

    The phone call from his agent in British Columbia was intriguing,to say the least. 

The bait had been taken,and Logan was on his way to Grand Cache.But he was not alone. 

As Kruger hung up the phone,he turned to his computer and ran through profiles,until he hit on Logan's most likely companion:Naomi Deschanel,also known as Electra. 


	3. Part 3

An intriguing mutant,capable of absorbing and channeling electricity from herself and her environment,up to and beyond lethal levels.She had been sought by the Organization since her existence was determined sixteen years ago,but she had never been caught. 

She had been almost captured one month ago at the Dry Lake installation in Nevada,along with the aforementioned Logan,but something went horribly wrong. 

In theory,Bertram had prepared for every contingency,and should have had the mutants-but a new,unknown mutant had showed up.Survivors said they called him 'Angel',and he was apparently immune to the  gas specially formulated to knock out most mutants,including the highly drug resistant Logan. 

The mutant database had been scoured-which took a long time,since secret records had been kept for decades-but no one called 'Angel',matching the given description,and with the ability to withstand both bullets and drugs,had ever been found.It was possible a mutant here and there had escaped notice,but highly unlikely,unless he'd been born in a Third World nation where tracking them was difficult. 

Kruger made sure everything was ready for Logan;now it was time to make sure everything was ready for Naomi.And even though they were a pair,he decided to try and make ready for this 'Angel' again,in case he bothered to put in a surprise appearance again. 

He sat back,and surveyed his austere,sterile office,reclining in his ergonomic chair and scanning all the videocamera monitors (twenty four) embedded in the far wall-all showing him a different mutant,whether in their cells or in the experimentation labs-and he reached across his desk to toggle a switch,which shifted the centermost camera from the (currently) empty gene alteration vat in lab 12-B to the special cell,made in anticipation of his biggest prize:Logan. 

An adamantium cell,priceless in its gleaming perfection,unbreakable,unbreachable,the perfect container to hold an unstable animal until he could be tamed to the whip once more. 

And while Enigma died,taking Dreamland with her,his research and experimentation had finally paid off:he had found something much better.Something Logan could not be immune to,no matter what.Something dear Electra couldn't be immune to either.And maybe even dear old,freaky Angel. 

Kruger smiled to himself,thinking only of Lethe,and the prizes about to fall into his lap. 

    6 

    Naomi knew they were going to have a violent thunderstorm before it happened,and Logan didn't know why he was really surprised.Electricity was her thing. 

She told him once they had crossed the border,from B.C. into Alberta,that they might want to pull over and take a break for a while,and soon."I don't think it's the type of thing you want to be driving in,especially on a motorcycle,"she shouted into his ear,pressing hard against his back as she gripped him tightly around the waist.He liked it when she did that;he just like being touched by her.In spite of the constant danger of electric shock,he welcomed it.He was so used to painful touches-generally,if anyone bothered to touch him,it was in the form of a slap,a punch,a grab,a shove.Touching had become synonymous with pain.But he hadn't realized how much he longed for more gentle human contact until she wrapped her arms around him,and pressed herself against his body. 

He would never admit he was lonely;not to anyone,not to himself,not in a million years. But,inside,he supposed he always knew it.But he was fine with it-you could never trust people, could you? 

But,damn him,he had still missed it. 

He refused to give up that easy-it was a long way to Grand Cache and beyond-but even he could start smelling the ozone in the air,feeling the humid charge as it wrapped around him like an invisible,smothering blanket,making the hairs on his arm and the back of his neck stand on end. 

And while he knew it was probably psychosomatic,he could swear his metal skeleton 'ached' (at least felt more pronounced under his skin) before a thunderstorm,and this felt like a biggie:a real motherfucker of a storm. 

One moment it was overcast,the sky an odd sepia tone like an old photograph,the air still but strangely warm and pregnant with threat,and suddenly the rain was pouring down;so hard and in such great quantities visibility became almost instantly zero,the sky cracking open with a roar that seemed to shudder through their bones as well as the ground,nearly breaking both eardrums and windows. 

Reluctantly,he had to pull off:they were done for the afternoon.At least until the violence of the storm abated.By the time he found a hotel they could hole up in,the wind was blowing violently enough that the sheer seemed to want to take the bike off its wheels.Luckily,thanks to all his metal,he was heavier than he looked. 

The hotel he picked at random was small and kind of cheap,but not sleazy-it was a sort of travel lodge,split level kind of place,as plastic as a fast food joint-and while Naomi made a face,she didn't complain.Of course by this time,they were both drowned rats,and just asking for one of those brilliant flashes of lightning to light them up like cigarettes. 

He left her to her own room-at least it was adjoining his-while he went to his room,stripped off his clothes,and attempted to ring them out in the bathtub.His leather jacket was fine,so were his boots,but his shirts and jeans look like they came straight out of the washer.Shit.Maybe this was the universe's way of telling him he needed to travel with luggage,whether he wanted to or not. 

He was wringing out his t-shirt when he heard a faint knock on the door.He knew from sound alone it was Electra,but he knew he'd better confirm it first. 

He paused,aware he was only clad in damp boxer shorts,but hell,she'd seen him in less.Of course,passing by the mirror over the bathroom sink,he noticed his hair remained plastered to his skull,and he looked like a body just fished out of a harbor.Oh well,at least he wasn't wearing a toe tag.Yet. 

He went to the door and listened,and could smell scents coming in through the crack of the door:her and just her.He realized he loved he smell of her damp skin and hair,in spite of the faint undertone of dye now on the latter,but he shoved the thought aside and simply threw the lock before walking away,back to the bathroom."Come on in,Naomi." 

He didn't look back as she came in,just went back to ringing out his shirts over the bathtub.  
He heard her close the door and lock it before she came to the open bathroom doorway and glanced inside."It would kill you to live like a normal person,wouldn't it?"She asked,sounding amused. 

He shot her an annoyed look,and noticed she had changed into dry clothes:a chunky,hooded red sweater with a zipper running down the front,and heavy black jeans.Her hair had only been towel dried,but she looked presentable,not like a waterlogged corpse. 

"Hey,if I carried a backpack like you do,there'd be no room for you on the bike,"he shot back, wringing the shirt so tight he thought he heard fibers tear.Oops. 

She leaned against the door jamb,giving him a small smile before crossing her arms over her chest."We could store the bike,get a real car." 

"Why?" 

She scoffed;a small,aborted laugh."You just can't do it,can you,Logan?" 

"Do what?"If there was a tear in the shirt,he couldn't find it.Good enough. 

He had his jeans over what appeared to be a heater vent in the bathroom,but they were no drier than before,just slightly warmer.Still,he pulled them on,listening to the rain pounding on the roof and window like a constant barrage of pebbles,the thunder a dragon's roar in the distance but getting closer every minute-in about fifteen minutes,it would be overhead and unbearable,like mortar fire. 

"Does it ever stop?"She asked,and it was the break in her voice that made him look at her as he pulled his jeans (fighting him because they were wet and so damn clingy) over his hips.She had a hand to her mouth and was wincing,as if trying to fight back tears."All this running...I'm going to do it for as long as I live,aren't I?" 

"Naomi..."he began,wanting to say something reassuring.But he couldn't think of anything. 

She turned away,and he followed her out,tossing his water logged shirt in the tub,hating to hear her cry,even though she did her best to hold it back.She sat down on the end of his bed,and hid her face in her hands as she tried to fight back the sobs."Why?We were born this way-it's not our fault,"she gasped,leaning over onto her knees."But they hunt us like fucking dogs.And they never stop coming,do they?There's always more of them..."Her voice broke in a sob,and he couldn't stand it.Mostly because he never knew what to do when a woman cried.But also because he didn't want to see her hurt. 

He sat down beside her,and gently lifted her shoulders until she raised her head. "Please,Naomi,don't.Don't do this too yourself." 

She gratefully leaned into his shoulder,and held onto him tightly as she cried.He held her,stroking her damp hair and trying his best to comfort her when he knew nothing he could say would make her feel any better."We put an end to these bastards,it won't happen anymore." 

"But there is no end to them,"she said into his shoulder,sounding more distraught even as the tears dried up."I'm so tired,Logan.I'm so tired of always looking over my shoulder." 

"I know the feeling,"he commiserated.He was so used to it,running-and paranoia-were second nature,reflex;he could never stop,even if he wanted to.And,it was very rare,but sometimes,if he let himself think about it,he did get very tired of it.He was so weary something in him wanted to collapse,maybe even surrender,but he wasn't about to allow himself the coward's way out.  
Yet it was as useless as speculating on what he would have been like if he was born normal -pointless,and no help now. 

Still,thinking about her words,he realized what she really said."They've been after you?"Why was this at all surprising?They wanted her bad."Since you came here looking for your family?" 

She sniffed and nodded,lifting her head from his shoulder to look him in the eye,wiping away stray tears with the back of her hand."Yes.I did everything to lose them,to hide...I think I did lose them for a while each time,but they always return." 

"Like fucking lemmings,"he agreed.God,he wanted to kill them all:find the source of the hive that kept churning these bastards out,and wipe it off the face of the planet once and for all.But Logan knew,in his heart,there probably wasn't just one place;like a pandemic,there were hot spots of it everywhere.Humans hated them,feared them...and people wanted to use them.End of story-frightening,freakish,but just another resource to exploit. 

And both he and Naomi were great,walking weapons of mass destruction,she even more than him,because he could only take on a city one person at a time;she could do it all in one go. 

"I want to kill them,"she admitted,and her expression was stark,haunted."I don't want to be a killer,Logan.But I am,aren't I?I killed Shrike." 

"That was self defense." 

"No it wasn't.I killed him for you." 

Logan did a slight double take,staring into her red rimmed blue eyes,but she looked stone cold serious."What?" 

"I was afraid he may have actually figured out how to kill you.I wasn't going to let him live if he had,"she explained,and took his face in her hands before leaning her forehead against his. "Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind." 

"I know that feeling too,"he told her,moving his hand down to the back of her neck.Her skin was an odd dichotomy;damp and cool,it still felt charged,which the flickering overhead light confirmed,and yet she seemed to be shivering.But was it from the cold?He wasn't so sure. 

There was a moment when he thought he might kiss her and,she wouldn't mind.But it passed quickly,before he could take advantage of it."Say I do find my sister and she remembers me somehow,and we save her-what then?Where do we go?There's no safe place,is there?" 

"We'll go to New York." 

"Your friends there?"The doubt was evident in her voice."I don't see how they can help." 

"They're better than nothin'." 

She had to concede that.What was the other option?"I suppose.I guess it sounds like a plan." 

"In theory,"he agreed,and let his hands fall as she pulled away.But there was a moment he thought she might kiss him,but that too passed as she dry washed her face,and the overhead bulb stopped flickering like there was a living lightning bug trapped inside."I was going to suggest we go to a bar-a nice one-and get me punk ass drunk,but maybe we ought to get you some dry clothes first." 

"Why bother?They're only going to get wet anyways,"he replied,getting up and returning to the bathroom.The wind was howling through minute cracks around the window now,the driving rain still pelting against the narrow pane like thrown gravel,and the light over the sink briefly flickered,but he knew Naomi wasn't responsible for that this time. 

He pulled on his wet t-shirt,briefly trying to smooth the wringing induced wrinkles before giving up on it as a lost cause,and then shrugged on his flannel shirt. 

"And Logan,absolutely no bar fights,"she called out from the bedroom.She sounded better,but he was convinced at least some of it was an act:she was overstressed,freaked out,and tired,and he couldn't blame her."I don't want to add avoiding police to the list." 

"Where's your sense of adventure?"He teased,shutting off the uncertain light as he left the bathroom in his cold,damp,and now wrinkled clothes.Well,at least if the power did go out, Naomi could still light things up along the way. 

There were some perks to being a mutant-he couldn't deny that.But in the end,he wasn't sure it was worth the pain and suffering involved. 

    *** 

    Kruger found Sanders in the observation room overlooking operation theater one.He was the only one actually observing an autopsy being performed on a truly monumental failure,and even then,observing was too strong a word. 

As he moved down the row of hard blue plastic chairs,and sat one chair removed from him on his left,he saw Sanders had a crumpled brown paper bag in his lap,a can of soda in one hand,and half a sandwich in the other-roast beef,by the smell.He was taking his lunch break here. 

Upon seeing him,Sanders gave him a sidelong glance before returning his attention to the reflective mirrors showing better angles on the open chest cavity of the mutant on the table almost twenty feet below them in the green tiled surgical bay.A casual look revealed no visible abnormalities in the messy clot of pinkish grey internal organs."Dinner and a show.Can't beat it,"Sanders said,before taking a bite of his sandwich. 

"I take it all is in preparation for our guests?" 

"Abso-tively.Freaks ain't goin' anywhere once they're inside the gate,"he insisted,his Texas drawl showing as he noisily chewed his food. 

"I think Logan needs a slight revision." 

"Logan?Oh,you mean Wolverine?"Sanders said it 'Wolverin',like it was a headache powder or a butter substitute."What?I told ya I think we can do a targeted erasure.We'll be able to keep most of his core programmin'." 

"I have a problem with 'most'.He was hard to program in the first place." 

"I hear it's easier the second time around." 

"There's never been a 'second time around' with a project like this,"Kruger pointed out crossly, wrinkling his nose at the pungent scent of onions.Maybe that's why his sandwich was so crunchy. 

Sanders shrugged."First time for everythin'." 

Kruger sometimes wanted to haul off and punch Sanders right across the face.He was not a stupid man,but he was so often needlessly obtuse and obstreperous Kruger would swear he was doing it solely to annoy him."I also want to go through his memories of Alkali Lake first.Can we retrieve what has,in practice,been lost?" 

Sanders brow wrinkled in thought as he took a swig of his soda,washing down his onion heavy sandwich."Why would ya wanna do somethin' like that?" 

"Because Potter and Nielson were working on a new irradication project which may have,in fact,worked.It may have led to the destruction of the base." 

"I thought it was something to do with genetic engineerin',not tactical nukes,"he replied,with some sarcasm. 

Kruger frowned.He didn't appreciate what Sanders considered a 'sense of humor' either."It did. And I think it's virtually assured success was the reason Lo-Wolverine blew up the base."  
Sanders did a double take,tearing his attention away from the thrilling weighing of the lungs."He blew it up?How do you know?"  
"I don't,yet.Right now,it's an educated guess-he is a violent man,made to kill.But a walk through his mind may answer that question once and for all,as well as tell me how far the Potter- Nielson experiment got."All the records were lost in the destruction of Alkali Lake,of course,but since Logan was one of the test subjects,certainly the knowledge was locked away in that muddled,animalistic brain of his. 

Sanders thought about that,cramming the last corner of his sandwich in his mouth and chewing as sloppily and noisy as a cow.Kruger watched the bisection of the spine as he waited for him to get done being obnoxious."It might be possible.We'd have to get us a powerful telepath or some equivalent." 

"But it can be done?" 

He shrugged."I'll contact the home office.They should be able to scramble someone up here." 

Sanders nodded,having to be content with that,at least for now. 

Maybe,when he successfully brought in Logan-as well as the so far unattainable Naomi Deschanel-he'd get a promotion to head of department,and he'd never have to deal with assholes like Sanders ever again. 

    7 

Los Angeles,California 

    Cordelia had just gotten to the second level of Doom when the guys returned from their version of a real life 'bug hunt'. 

It was a deeply stupid and needlessly bloody computer game that Gunn had apparently loaded up one night when he got really bored with book scouring and decided to futz around with her computer. 

At first she objected-it was an idiotic 'shoot-em-up' for adolescent boys either too scared of girls to have a life or future spree killers in training-but he told her to give it a shot (pun intended) before dumping it,as it was a 'mindless diversion'. 

She got so bored doing nothing but waiting for the explosive pain in her head to abate to simple implosion levels she decided to give it a try.Having no idea what she was doing,a big ugly digital monster killed her almost instantly...which pissed her off royal,so she loaded a new game and went at it again. 

Had that really been almost three hours ago?No,that couldn't be right. 

But the painkillers had kicked in,so she felt really good,and strangely enough she felt energized from stalking the big uglies and blasting them into ground chuck.Oh god-she had become one of those people that needed a life! 

Well,actually,that wasn't news,was it? 

"I have never seen anything with two faces before,"Gunn said as the guys came in,battle axes hefted over their shoulders."Well,at least two faces on one head." 

"Why did you think they were called Janus demons?"Wesley asked,putting his axe back in the weapons cabinet. 

"Named after mutual funds?"Gunn replied,handing him his axe.She wasn't sure,but she thought Gunn was being a smart ass.From the look Wes gave him,he thought the same thing. 

"I just hope we got all of them,"Angel said,sidling in to hang up his own axe,which looked like it was smeared with mustard.Blood? 

"They really eat brains?"Gunn had seemed dubious of this concept since she had the vision of a couple of two faced trolls-Janus demons,apparently-breaking open someone's skull in the park to feast on the contents.She had to admit it was very zombie movie,but nonetheless true,and unbelievably disgusting. 

"There's no accounting for taste,"Angel replied,taking off his duster and tossing it on the coat tree.He looked like he was headed her way,so she quickly saved her game and shut down the window before he saw it."Any other reports of murders in the park?" 

"Umm,no,not recently,"she said,glad she bothered to look before playing the game."There have been dead pets found though,mostly big dogs.Punk kids and/or Satanists have been blamed for it." 

"What would Satanists want with dog brains?"Gunn said,snorting derisively. 

"Appetizers?"Angel suggested,going to the coffeemaker. 

Cordy was barely aware of the new electrical storm gathering behind her eyes before it struck-a lightning bolt of pain knifed through her brain,bright light blinding her and making reality fall away as she suddenly saw- 

-a room,metal and cold,harsh white light reflecting off sterile walls that could have belonged to a bank vault or a bunker...but it was not that benign.There was a chamber in the center of the room,sort of a glass coffin standing on end,open only at the top,filled to within a foot of the opening with a vaguely greenish fluid. 

In the chamber was a person. 

They were shackled to what looked like a metal backboard,thick silver bands holding his wrists,ankles,waist,and neck firmly in place,while an oxygen or gas mask of some sort covered his nose and mouth,presumably to keep him from drowning.The man was naked,with a muscular body that probably looked really nice outside of liquid coffins,and seemingly unconscious,eyes closed and face slack beneath the mask,but he looked familiar somehow.Really familiar. 

She thought he was being embalmed alive,or something equally odd and chilling;she felt cold all of the sudden,like she had dropped through ice and straight into gelid water.What looked like some kind of skeletal,robotic arm lowered into the tank from overhead,moving down until it was level with his throat,just above the metal collar.It was then that a needle-longer than any needle she had ever seen in her life:like a knitting needle,only as thin as a wire-grew out of the small,tumor like protuberance that made the robot's 'hand',and moved forward, puncturing the man's throat. 

She felt the pain-icy hot;searing and freezing all at once-as her own throat was punctured, tasting blood as a small cloud of it blossomed in the emerald water,a dark stain quickly diffused,and she felt the sharp,unbearable pain all the way to the back of her neck,as if the needle had punched all the way through to her (his) brain stem. 

As she struggled to breathe,gagging on the blood flooding her mouth and wanting desperately to claw at her throat and rip the damn thing out (but her hands didn't work-they were frozen;she was frozen.She was him and she/he was trapped like a bug on a board in an etymologist's lab),the man's eyes shot open.She saw the disorientation (drugs?),then the fear,but it was short lived,as his pupils shrank to pinpricks,black ink dots swallowed by irises that seemed to bleed their olive green hue into the water,and turn a frigid,empty blue- 

"Logan!"She shouted in sudden recognition,as the real world came roaring back around her, along with the molten pain in her head,but suddenly she was glad for its sickly warmth and throbbing ache.She could breathe,she was not tasting blood,she could move,and she did not have something sticking in her throat.And god,there was heat-it was California and it was warm.She swore she would never complain about the heat again. 

"Logan?"Angel repeated.He was hunkered down before her chair,looking up at her with concerned brown eyes.Wasn't he just by the coffee machine?But then again,that had probably been a few seconds ago.It felt like no time had passed at all,and yet it also felt like an eternity."Logan Park?"His normal sympathetic concern became troubled as he realized what she meant."Mutant Logan?" 

"What?The Badger guy?"Gunn asked,looking at her from over the front desk. 

"Wolverine,"Wesley corrected him.Wes was standing just to the side of Angel,on her left. 

"Same diff." 

"Is he back in town?"Wesley wondered,nervously straightening his glasses. 

"No,he's in Canada-Empty Grand Cache,or Grande Cash,something like that,"she said,rubbing her aching forehead.But the pain wasn't so bad in comparison to what Logan was going through;no,what he was going to go through."They're going to grab him again.The guys that...altered him,gave him the claws.They're going to capture him and...I don't know what the hell those freakazoids are going to do to him,but it was torture.It was like he was alive,and yet I can't shake the feeling I was still watching him die." 

"Brainwashing?"Wesley guessed,coming up behind her chair.Gesturing to the computer with a nod of his head,he asked,"Mind if I try and find the city?" 

"Be my guest."Right now,just looking at the computer screen made her eyes feel like razor blades in the sockets. 

"He was last in British Columbia,yes?"Wesley asked. 

"As far as I know,"she agreed. 

"Going to be?You mean he hasn't been caught yet?"Gunn asked,dark brow furrowing in confusion. 

She nodded faintly,trying not to further aggravate the beast in her head. 

"Why would the PTB's warn us about something that's going to happen in Canada?That doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense."Gunn continued,frowning impatiently. 

"Do you remember what happened after Shrike planted that telepathic trigger in his brain?" Angel asked,glancing at him over his shoulder. 

"Oh fuck yeah-psycho freak out.Now,that does make sense.This is one guy you don't want goin' evil." 

Angel grimaced at Gunn's comments as he turned back to face her.Angel knew that better than anyone:he got stabbed twice,and had the living-well,dead-shit beat out of him by Logan in Wolverine mode.It was sheer luck he was not killed,and Angel seemed to know it. 

Gunn then added,"He's bad enough as it is." 

Cordy gave him a sarcastic scowl for that.He was just jealous because he wasn't virtually indestructible. 

After a minute of typing,Wesley reported,"According to this on line atlas,there is no Grand Cache in B.C.,but there is one in Alberta,specifically in the Canadian Rockies." 

"Isn't that where that Alkali Lake place was?"Angel wondered. 

Wesley frowned at the computer screen."I believe so." 

"Could he have gone back for revenge or something?"Gunn wondered aloud.She didn't think anyone would blame him if he had,but she really didn't think Logan was stupid enough to launch a one man campaign of revenge against some massive,evil government organization.He'd at least get back up or heavy weaponry or something. 

"I'm going,"Angel said,rising to his feet and grabbing his duster off the coat rack. 

"Don't you mean we,kemosabe?"Gunn pointed out. 

"No,I need the three of you to hold down the fort until I get back,"he replied,shrugging on his black coat.As he headed for the door,Gunn asked,"How are you going to get there?" 

That made Angel pause,and turn around,giving them a slightly confused look."Oh yeah.The windows in the convertible aren't dark enough to protect me from the sun." 

"We could spray paint 'em,"Gunn offered,sounding almost cheerful at the thought. 

"I am not spray painting my windows,"Angel shot back,an angry crease forming between his dark brows."That car is a classic." 

After a moment of thought,Gunn said,"Maybe Julio can help you out." 

"Julio?"Angel,Wesley,and Cordelia asked in unison. 

Gunn smirked,happy at having a bit of knowledge over them for a change."He runs a place downtown,auto shop,but he does a side trade in beater cars.I bet we could get you something he wouldn't care if you dyed blue and used for target practice." 

"Legal?"Angel asked. 

Gunn shrugged."I don't ask." 

Angel scowled at him,but his broad shoulders sagged,seemingly disappearing in his incongruously heavy jacket."Fine,we'll go talk to Julio.But you'd better take care of my car while I'm gone.No joy rides." 

"Like I'd joy ride in that fossil,"Gunn scoffed,and then held up his hands in surrender at the evil look Angel shot him for that."No offense.I mean,it's fine for some people." 

As they were going out the door,she called out,"Angel!" 

He paused and looked back,concerned as always. 

"Be careful.But find him."She told him,meaning that with all her heart. 

He had to find Logan first.The alternative was just too horrible to contemplate. 

    8 

    The one good thing about the storm-besides thinning out traffic-was it convinced Logan they'd have to store the bike and get a car. 

Being as pigheaded as any man (maybe more so),he was still holding out for using the bike even though storm drains had already overflowed,leaving most streets in this quasi-urban town awash in water,at least an inch deep in most places,and growing every minute.He had no problems driving through what amounted to small creeks,as both Logan and the bike were accustomed to adversity.But as the rain sheeted down,the wind howling in periodic,powerful gusts that threatened to toss them aside like match sticks,explosive thunder making the ground tremble as if in the throes of tiny earthquakes before bluish-white bolts of lightning flickered ominously in the dark sky above...Logan finally admitted something with a roof would be better. 

Men. 

In spite of her hooded sweater,she got soaked too,as it was impossible not to.But luckily this town lacked any really nice bars,so when they ended up in a middling one,nobody cared if they dripped all over their floor. 

Although the roads appeared deserted,the bar was all but filled,although only a handful of the plaid and parka wearing patrons were women,including the bartender.A tough looking broad- and broad was really the only word for her-she had tattooed arms as thick as tree branches and muddy brown hair clipped so short it was nearly a buzz cut. 

She gave Logan a strange,sidelong glance after he paid for their beers,which made Naomi wonder if she was a mutant.Or maybe there was some kind of secret bulletin circulated through all the bars in Canada with Logan's picture on it,and a general warning that this man could,in all likelihood,tear your bar apart and beat the shit out of all your redneck patrons (at once).The more she thought about it,the more the idea of a countrywide bar A.P.B. made sense. 

The news was blaring loudly from a small television over the bar,and as they took a seat at one of the rare empty tables,she heard that flood warnings were in effect for several low lying areas,at least one person was dead (downed power line),and the stormfront was expected to hang in until tomorrow.She never found out what was supposed to happen after that,as the bartender,by popular demand,turned the channel over to a hockey game.The Oilers were playing the Flyers to a scoreless tie.Thrilling. 

Naomi had been hoping that having a drink (no-honestly,getting shitfaced) would help;if not steady her nerves,maybe just kill the pain.But she knew almost right away it wasn't going to work.How could you drown your sorrows when they apparently floated,as weightless and persistent as a shadow? 

It was hard to look Logan in the eye-she was so embarrassed over her breakdown earlier.He didn't seem to hold it against her,and,knowing him,was content to never mention it. 

She wondered if he knew he caused it. 


	4. Part 4

Not deliberately,of course.How could he know of the tired swirl of thoughts in her head?She had sought him out-albeit reluctantly-because she knew,beyond a shadow of a doubt,she could trust him.Yet he disturbed her in a strange way as well-they were a lot a like,too much for comfort.But she was a 'before',and he was an 'after'-and it scared her that she could become like him in any capacity.Would they do that to her if they caught her?Was that what they had done to her sister? 

But ultimately she was tired of living in fear:there just came a point when you let it drive you crazy,or you let it all go and say the hell with it.She wanted to do the latter,but seemed stuck-she didn't know how.As for Logan,he just didn't think about the fear;he just dealt with it when it manifested itself.Or when he slept,and it all came back to him.She didn't know if that was denial or avoidance,but he managed to cope,and she hoped she could pick up that gift by osmosis. 

Yet she couldn't help but notice,every now and then,Logan would take the room in with his eyes,and check out the front door-and he didn't know it.It was reflex now,and that type of knee jerk paranoia made her feel worse,for him and for her,and her unknown sister. 

Oh hell-she was mainly feeling sorry for herself.She could at least admit that much. 

Logan picked up her dark mood,and after their second beer suggested they get out of there.She agreed,and they went back out into the driving storm,probably feeling much worse than they had when they came in.Oh,irony. 

As she clung to him on the back of the bike,the rain pelting down so hard she could swear it was pebbles hitting her face,she realized she was very tired,and rested her head against his broad back,closing her eyes.She was very tired,and sure she could sleep,maybe well,for the first time in a very long time. 

Naomi wondered if you could train yourself not to be a loner. 

Logan avoided people for very obvious reasons-people did nothing but hurt him,or at least that was so in the past.So he learned to avoid them,shut them out.But that was not her story.  
She avoided people so she didn't hurt them.Starting from almost electrocuting to death a harasser in the halls of her junior high school to giving minor electric shocks to members of her family to accidentally destroying several watches,televisions,radios,and cars simply by being near them,Naomi figured out early she could not be around normal people.Or any people. 

When she got angry,lamps had a tendency to explode.Now there was a person you wanted to invite to your next party.Fuse boxes sometimes blew out in her presence-hey,invite her over to the housewarming.She was an extreme freak in a world that had none.Or at least,not then.The mutant phenomenon was still 'in the closet',so to speak,back then.But even when it started to leak out,getting sensational press coverage,she felt no better at all.So,there were others like her.That was supposed to make her feel better how? 

Even among freaks,she felt like a freak. 

But not with Logan.She didn't know why exactly; perhaps because he was far from your 'average' mutant too.He sometimes alarmed her,and certainly he was an unwelcome reminder of what could happen to her,but she was comfortable with him.Maybe because he had no fear of her.They were more than simply people without a country;they were like a race without a species.Logan seemed cool with that.She wasn't sure if she was. 

She felt Logan's back tense,and that's what made her look up over his shoulder,in time to see a large black military style truck pull out at the end of the street,and park parallel to the mouth of the intersection,effectively making a roadblock. 

Logan looked towards the sidewalks,but they were torn up,jagged concrete slabs jutting like mammoth shark fins out of huge craters now filling rapidly with water,just beyond large reflective signs reading 'Road Closed-Construction Ahead'. 

Logan idled the bike and glanced behind them,although not for long.He just grunted,a sort of mirthless laugh,and she risked a look behind them to see just what was so funny. 

Another black military truck had pulled in parallel to the street,and where the sidewalks might give free access to a motorcycle,huge strips of black spikes had been unfurled;it was hard to see them,as the sheeting rain limited visibility even with the streetlight overhead,but Naomi guessed the spikes to be at least nine inches long.As long as Logan's claws. 

And,as if on cue,all the lights of the block died,from streetlamps to the advertisements and signs hanging in the closed store windows,and she wasn't sure if they had cut the power,or it was a coincidental result of the still raging storm.But she was able to hear the mass of heavy footsteps as they started marching towards them from both ends of the street,even in the darkness clearly armed,and Logan sighed loudly. 

"I'm a fun date,aren't I?"He said sarcastically. 

She patted his shoulder reassuringly,even as her stomach seemed to twist itself into knots."The funnest I know." 

And she tensed herself for yet one more goddamn battle. 

    9 

    In the brief,bright flashes of lightning,they could both see that these men were nothing like the hapless commandos they had faced earlier in the day. 

These wore what seemed to be head to toe uniforms,as black and metallic as the carapaces of beetles or scorpions,the opaque helmets (?) they wore making their heads look uniformly bulbous.With their bulky outfits,they all looked like walking refrigerators with black painted volleyballs balanced precariously on top.It would have been really funny if this whole situation didn't strike her as monstrously bad. 

"What do you think are the odds they got lost on their way to a sci-fi convention?"Logan wondered idly. 

"Not very good,"she guessed,as she saw one of the carapaced commandos pull an adamantium net gun from a holster on his back. 

Already upset and charged,she held out her hand and hit him with a bolt of electricity that should have floored him and the guy right beside him. 

But the blue white electricity seemed to snake around him before mysteriously dissipating-and he remained unharmed,and aimed the gun at them. 

"What the fuck-"she blurted out,as Logan gunned the engine and ran the bike straight into the commando as he fired. 

He missed,but they both had to duck the net,and Logan quickly slewed the bike around as his ten or so friends in the line tried to use their paralyzers on them.Logan lashed out with his left claw and slashed another net gun in half,his claws grazing the helmet of the commando wielding the weapon.It should have sliced it-and possibly his head-in half,but the tips of his claws shot sparks off the black visor,with a screeching noise like someone scraping a dull knife down a steel door."Shit!Adamantium!"Logan said,as they sped towards the rear guard. 

"Adamantium conducts electricity!"She shouted into the wind,as he was forced to do another u-turn.The commandos were closing ranks.Having cut off escape routes,they were determined to bottle them up completely. 

"They must have something else too,that absorbs electricity,"Logan shouted back,with a grim certainty in his voice."That's fucking high tech body armor,made just for us.Can you fight?" 

"Physically?I know a little karate,"she admitted hesitantly.Never having had a reason to physically mix it up with anyone,she knew she could not be that good.Certainly nowhere near Logan's league/Hell,he fought for fun.He could fight in his sleep,and in a strange way,he did. 

"When I slow down,jump off,and get to the sidewalk,"he said in a low voice."Keep your back to the wall.Don't let them get behind you." 

"What are you going to do?"She asked. 

"Take out as many as I can,"he replied cryptically."If you think you have a clear shot,make a break for it." 

"Logan-" 

"Don't argue with me.If we both get taken,we're screwed."He sounded certain,a general on a familiar battlefield,and if he was afraid it didn't show at all.She took some comfort in that,even as her stomach did queasy somersaults. 

The bike slowed,and she hopped off,darting for the nearest sidewalk as he revved the engine and jumped off himself,landing on his feet as he continued to hold onto the handlebars,letting the momentum of the bike's rear wheel carry it forward as he raised the front end.The bike hit several front line commandos and sent them crashing down to the pavement as he spun the bike around and almost literally threw it;it skidded across the rain slicked street and slammed into several of the rear guard,sending them falling as the others rushed Logan. 

Logan ran across the street,drawing most of the commandos away from her,and using his claws cut down a street light post like a sapling. 

The soldiers scrambled to get out of the path of the heavy,twenty foot falling pole,but some didn't make it.The light shattered explosively on impact,making glass fly like deadly shrapnel as Logan got on top of the downed pole,kicking a commando in the face and sending him falling back into a comrade.He sliced a section out of the post and shouted,"Naomi!" 

She stared at him,looking away from the three men surrounding her (but she had her back to the wall,like he said),and he used the two foot section of pole to smash a paralyzer wielding commando in the face before throwing it across the street to her.She caught it-it was heavier than it looked-and instantly smashed the nearest commando across the face with her impromptu weapon. 

Well,if she had to be in a life or death fight,who better to be with than Logan? 

She hit a second one across the head,hearing glass break across the street as Logan was either thrown through or threw someone through a store window,but the glass wouldn't hurt him either way. 

Someone grabbed her and jabbed a paralyzer in her side,but as the electricity stabbed through her,she smashed the pipe into his helmet and sent him stumbling back.Being an electric shock,there was no way in hell a paralyzer would work on her.They should have thought of that. 

But someone tackled her,shoving her so hard into the brick wall she saw stars explode before her eyes,and felt blood dribbling from a fresh cut on her forehead. 

As he twisted an arm behind her back roughly,to the point that she thought her arm might snap like a twig,she heard Logan again. 

"Naomi,"he shouted,standing in the shattered front window of the hardware store across the street.He was holding a round metal can of some sort,and he seemed to punch it before tossing it high into the air above the street."Light it up!" 

Although she had no idea what it was,she shot out a bolt of electricity with her free hand,and as soon as it hit the can,leaking a substance where Logan had punctured it with his claws,it exploded into a brilliant fireball that lit up the street like a false sun,and rained fire down on them all. 

Most of the commandos scrambled for cover or dropped to their knees shrieking,holding their arms over their helmets,and it took her a second to figure out why. 

Infrared scopes-they had infrared scopes in those black helmets,so they could see their targets when the power was cut,and the fireball created when she exploded the can of...kerosene (? She couldn't tell),it blinded them,at least temporarily. 

The commando who had a hold of her had shrunk back at the flames,and she slid out of his grasp and ran for it,dodging flaming shrapnel quickly being extinguished by the rain and shoving over soldiers who were slowly recovering their vision.One almost grabbed her,but she managed to pull away,and jumped through the shattered,empty eye of the hardware store window,where Logan instantly grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the back. 

The darkened store was a mess of toppled shelves,scattered goods and fallen commandos,their shadows misshapen figures in the dimness,and Logan was holding an axe in his other hand.Not the first,judging from all the shattered axe handles she almost tripped over,and what looked like broken blades embedded in the walls. 

"As much as I hate to say it,we gotta make a run for it,"he said,as a commando shadow reared up from beside them. 

Logan let go of her long enough to swing the axe like a bat,and he smashed the soldier so hard in the head the crack that sounded was as explosive as a peal of thunder.The axe shattered on impact,the blade flying away,as the commando staggered,falling to his knees,grabbing his helmet.If there wasn't adamantium in it,his head probably would have been on the next block, and rolling for the airport. 

Logan tossed the broken handle aside as he ran down an aisle filled with paint cans,and she quickly followed,tossing a wary glance over her shoulder.The soldiers had recovered,and were closing in on the store en masse;they looked like an unearthly death squad. 

"They'll follow us,"she pointed out,hating to put a crimp in his plans,but there they were. 

"Not for long,"he replied,slashing several cans on both sides of the aisle with his claws.The smell of paint and paint thinner suddenly filled the ozone charged air,and she knew what he had planned:a wall of fire to block their escape. 

"It'll take us up with it,"she told him. 

He simply grabbed her arm and pulled her into the store's back room.She couldn't see anything, the darkness here was as thick as ink,but Logan went forward unerringly,never slowing or stopping.Animal sense?Or simply lucky guess? 

She heard him hit a metal door,its lock snapping like an icicle,and a cold gust of rain scented wind hit them,scrubbing away the sharp scent of paint thinner and chemicals."Light it up now," he said,looking back at her with slightly wild eyes.He was so furious he was trying very hard not to explode himself. 

The door leading to the front of the store was still ajar,so,mustering her own anger,she shot out a ball of electricity from her fingertips,which shot through the open door like a lightning bolt. 

The sudden gout of flame was extremely impressive. 

The huge,pungent  orange-red fireball blew the interior door off its hinges as Logan pulled her down the narrow alleyway behind the store,separated from the alleys of the next block by a chain link fence with wooden slats through the links.But one slash and they were through,and running into the light of the next,normal street.She though she heard screams,or maybe just loud curses,but they soon faded to nothing as flames began reaching for the sky far behind them,and she wondered if this was what it was like to live in a war zone. 

What was she thinking?Of course it was.Their lives were war zones;stability and quiet were the exception,not the rule. 

Oh god,this sucked. 

It was too bad no one wrote a book about what you did when you were doomed,because she thought she could really use it by now. 

    10 

    Logan carefully scoped the hotel before they returned to it,in case a welcoming committee of these adamantium clad bozos were waiting for them.But it was clear, for now. 

Hopefully they had retreated to lick their wounds and revamp their strategy,but he knew better than to count on that for long. 

Speaking of wounds,Naomi had one.Nothing major,just a gash on her forehead over her right eye,pretty shallow,but like most  facial/scalp wounds on a normal person (or mutant),it was an impressive bleeder. 

Once back in her hotel room,he asked,"You don't happen to have a first aid kit,do you?" 

"No,"she replied,leaning with her back against the door,as if trying to hold back a rampaging horde.She was shivering,probably because she was soaked;he was too,and being constantly cold was starting to annoying him.He had bad memories associated with the cold,and it was the one thing he really hated about Canada in any time of year,save for summer."They were ready for us,Logan.What does that mean?" 

"It means we're expected,"he told her,retreating to her bathroom.He didn't bother to turn on a light;the sliver of low amber light bleeding in from the bedroom was enough for him to see the white towels hanging on the rack.He grabbed one,and turned on the hot water tap in the small porcelain sink,soaking a single corner of the rough towel in warm water. 

"What are we going to do?"She asked.She kept her voice level,but he caught the edge of despair, and sympathized. 

"I don't know,"he admitted,angry frustration making his face flush with heat. 

Adrenaline roared through his veins,louder than the thundering beat of his heart,and the fact that he had to run from a fight ate at him like acid.He did not run,damn it-there was not a goddamn ass on this Earth he couldn't kick.He wanted to go back and gut those dickheads like fucking carp...but with that goddamn adamantium body armor,how the hell was he going to do that?Maybe the scariest thing of all was they were immune to Naomi's power:that should have been impossible.But it wasn't anymore. 

They were so fucking screwed. 

Obviously the fucks at Big Empty were expecting them,so how could they go now?But how could they abandon her sister to those people,the same people who had kidnapped and tortured him? If anyone had ever known he was at Alkali Lake,he'd have wanted them to rescue him,come hell or high water,fuck the odds.So they were just going to have to think of some other way to do it. But how?They would have to out-think people who were obviously one step ahead of them. 

Shit! 

He really didn't want to call Xavier's and ask for help,but maybe,for Naomi's and Maddy's sake,he'd have to swallow his pride.He may have no other choice.Shit. 

And he'd lost the bike.They'd probably take it,though,so maybe he'd have a chance to recover it someday. 

Swallowing back his boiling rage as best he could (he really wanted to punch the wall,but he knew he'd put his fist and most of his upper arm through it-and hadn't he broken enough mirrors to guarantee a lifetime and a half of bad luck?Not that any more could possibly hurt at this point...),he went back to Naomi with the towel. 

She had not moved;she seemed to be staring ahead at nothing in particular,either thinking or in shock. 

There was a huge gust of wind outside that screamed like a child and threw rain against the windows like hail,and the bulb in the lone lamp on the nightstand flickered and died.The hotel fell strangely silently as the normal,easily ignored hum of electricity in the background of everything disappeared. 

Instantly he suspected the worst,that they had somehow tracked them here,even though he knew for damn sure they were not followed.After pressing the wet corner of the towel to the bleeding cut on Naomi's head,she opened her mouth to say something,but he put a finger to her lips with his free hand as he strained to listen to everything beyond them. 

He heard the window outside,the branches of the ornamental trees placed haphazardly around the hotel slapping against the outer walls as if beating out a tribal rhythm,the rain drumming out a counter rhythm,a couple of disgruntled guests...but no invading army;no heavy bootsteps of armor clad commandos,no rumble of engines,either waiting or approaching. 

An actual power outage,unrelated to the soldiers.He hung his head and let out a relieved sigh that instantly angered him.Since when did he not look forward to a good fight? 

Since winning became damn nigh impossible,he supposed. 

"I was going to tell you the interruption felt natural,"she said,as soon as he removed his finger from her lips."There was a surge,and I don't think the transformers could handle it." 

"You feel electricity?"He asked,dabbing at the cut.It wasn't so dark that he couldn't see-his eyes had grown accustomed to the dimness-and he could tell the bleeding was starting to slow. 

"Believe it or not,yes.I'm a big dynamo,after all."Her eyes seemed almost unnaturally bright;he could smell the adrenaline exuding from her pores.They both had energy to burn,although in her case it was probably literal. 

"Are you all right?" 

"No.I'm freaked the hell out,"she admitted,grabbing the front of his sopping shirt and pulling him into a passionate kiss. 

He felt a spark erupt as her tongue touched his,flash burning the inside of his mouth,but he didn't mind at all.It was familiar,strange yet arousing. 

He tossed the towel aside as he pressed his body against hers,craving the warmth of the electricity that crawled along her skin like invisible insects.He could feel the charge,the static as he slid his hands up her back,underneath her damp sweater,could feel it stinging his lips. 

Her hands slid beneath his jacket and pushed it off,and he let it fall to the floor,kicking it aside as he pulled her away from the door.As her hands slid beneath his damp shirt,he felt sparks skitter across his skin,stinging but not painful. 

They broke their kiss long enough for him to pull his shirt off,and then they were back together once more,him helping her unzip her sweater,her skin warm and damp against his,nipples hard as pebbles pressing against his chest. 

"We really shouldn't do this,"he said breathlessly,struggling to regain some common sense as they fell back onto the bed.It felt as comfortable as a pallet of lumber,but at this rate he couldn't see either of them noticing,much less complaining about it. 

He heard electricity crackle in his wet hair as she ran her hands through it,her teeth lightly scraping his skin as she nuzzled his neck."I know,"she agreed,gently nipping at the skin beneath his chin.Logan was pretty sure neither of them were getting much blood to their brains at the moment. 

He held her tight and rolled over,careful not to crush her beneath him.She wrapped her fairly muscular legs tightly around him as he kissed and nuzzled her neck,which he knew from past experience she really liked.He could taste the rain on her strangely salty,electrically charged skin,could feel the static and the sparks just waiting to happen. 

This was so wrong-they should be packing up and heading out now,going...where,exactly?He knew he might be able to think better if she wasn't trying to get his jeans off.Not that he was inclined to stop her. 

"Naomi,"he began,giving it one last shot,but then she moved her hands up to his back and dug in her fingernails;a small,sharp pain that made him groan,once again erotic and familiar. 

Oh,the hell with it-if he was going to die,he was going to die happy. 

He kissed her,and forgot whatever the hell else he had been thinking about. 

    *** 

    While Kruger hoped the emergency message had been worth getting out of bed for,he realized he had been setting himself up for a blow from the irony gods.And did those bastards deliver. 

He entered Sander's white on beige Base office to find Sanders sitting at his desk,feet up,arms folded behind his head,looking so casual you'd think nothing had been shot to shit.But his unruffled image was ruined somewhat by the tiny yellow mustard stains down the front of his white shirt. 

"You heard the report from Warner?"He wondered,not bothering to hide the contempt in his voice.Warner was the senior officer in charge of the situation on site. 

Sanders dipped his head,his placidity infuriating."They screwed the pooch down there." 

Kruger shook his head and shoved Sander's feet off his cluttered desk so he could sit on the edge. "No,they did not just 'screw the pooch'-they fucked up royal.They should have been an easy get." 

"Well,you can't blame the kid.He played it by the book.It's just Wolverine's a natural made killer,ain't he?It's what he does." 

"That doesn't excuse incompetence.Someone even tried to use a paralyzer on Electra.It says right in the mission briefing paralyzers are for use on Wolverine only.And drug cartridges have to be rotated so he never gets a dose of the same thing twice since he adapts so readily to most controlled substances.Her it doesn't matter-as far as we know-but god damn it!If those morons weren't ready,why did they go in?" 

Sanders sat up straighter in his chair,the expression on his face suggesting Kruger was the unreasonable one."It looked like a go.So,they underestimated Wolverine.They won't do it again." 

"You're assuming there is an again,"he countered darkly. 

Now Sanders looked worried.He folded his hands nervously on his lap,a frown creasing his pale brows."You really think they'll make a run for the border?We have agents in place." 

As much as he liked getting under Sanders thick hide,he saw no point in continuing a charade either."Don't bother,Sanders.We need to keep lockdown status active here." 

"So you think the recovery team will have a second chance?" 

"I don't really know.But I do know Wolverine.Fighting is hardwired into him-it feeds straight into his ego.He got his butt kicked,and he can't live with that.He'll want revenge,and I assume Electra still wants her sister.The stupid bastards will keep coming for us,Sanders."Kruger knew that with an unwavering certainty.Logan wouldn't give up;the poor bastard didn't really know how.He had the soul of a contrarian:he would fight everything,even if it was obviously pointless and hopeless.He would continue onward,simply because he didn't know what else to do. 

Even if it led to his doom.Which it would,of course-but he had a self-destructive streak as well. 

Sanders shook his head in disgusted amusement."Then why do they want the idiot back so bad?" 

"Haven't you been paying attention?He and electric girl thwarted an entire collection team that should have had them subdued and off the streets within three minutes.Wolverine is the best at what he does,Sanders." 

"Fucking up?" 

"Killing."And Kruger couldn't help but hope Sanders would get a personal taste of that,as soon as the old Wolverine was back in the saddle again. 

    11 

    The feeling that he was drowning,suffocating slowly as his lungs filled painfully with water, woke Logan up with a jolt.But luckily,his claws remained in his hands. 

He was especially glad about that since Naomi was fast asleep beside him.God,he could have killed her. 

He quickly got out of bed,careful not to wake her,and noticed the power was back.The lamp was on,and the tiny alarm clock beneath it on the nightstand was moronically flashing twelve,the red numerals blinking like an eye.He turned off the lamp,letting the clock flash itself into oblivion as he went off to the bathroom to have a shower. 

He'd been hoping it would help clear the cobwebs from his mind,but as the hot water attempted to pummel his muscles into submission,it became clear that wasn't going to happen. 

What were they going to do? 

They were obviously expected at Big Empty.There would be a trap waiting for them,a trap of adamantium and electrical absorbers,a trap that would catch them like flies in amber.If they went forward,it would be a suicide mission. 

If it was just himself,he'd hardly give it a second thought.But Naomi was in on this too,and he did not want to see her hurt.Last night was too fucking close. 

Yet he knew she would not stay behind;it was her sister being held,and frankly he couldn't blame her.But if something happened to her he would never forgive himself.It would tear him to pieces. 

The sudden realization of that scared him.Surely she was right-emotions just complicated things.Yet walking away was out of the question;he'd be damned if he was leaving anyone to the tender mercies of those torturing bastards.So what did that leave?Where did they go from here? 

He turned off the water and got out,drying himself off with a rough towel as he made a decision that left an unpleasant taste in his mouth:he would call for help. 

Even Upstate New York was far from Alberta,but with that bloody jet of theirs they could get here pretty fast,so he should call as soon as possible.And tell them what?He was assuming they'd want to help rescue a captured mutant-what if they'd rather not? 

No,that was bullshit.Xavier would help other mutants being experimented on.He just didn't want to do it because it felt like giving up. 

The bathroom door opened,and Naomi walked in,yawning and wearing his t-shirt."Morning  tiger,"she said sleepily."Want to stay and do my back?" 

He smiled,well aware it wasn't going to stop with the back.Their showers together had a tendency to turn into marathons where no one actually got clean. 

And it was a really tempting thought.It was easy to get lost in the flesh,to think of nothing but each other at that moment in time...but they had an escape to plan."I'll have to take a rain check.I'll go get  us some breakfast,huh?I'm starving." 

"Me too.A little caffeine would be nice,"she said,turning the shower on again. 

He decided to leave the bathroom before he changed his mind,but half way out the door,he realized,"Hey,you've got my shirt." 

She took it off and threw it at him before getting into the shower;it hit him right in the face."Nice shot,"he said,pulling it off his head. 

"I do make them sometimes,"she noted humorously,drawing the shower curtain closed. 

As dry as he was probably going to get considering the monsoon still raging outside,he left his towel on the sink,and pulled his shirt on over his head as he gathered up the rest of his clothes and got dressed.Naomi had left his t-shirt nice and warm,the static electricity making the hair on his arms stand on end. 

So much for sticking to just being friends.But he had to admit,this was a hell of a lot nicer. 

Once he pulled on his boxer shorts (how they got thrown in the closet he couldn't remember) and his jeans,he picked up the telephone on the nightstand.He had to call Xavier's before he lost his nerve. 

But there was no dial tone. 

He pointlessly pressed the receiver down a few times,but there wasn't even a static hiss on the line.It was deader than a deer at an NRA convention. 

The power was on,but the phone was dead? 

It was possible-especially in this part of Canada;a small town with an equally small phone service-but it was suspicious enough he decided he was not about to leave Naomi all by herself. They could get breakfast on their way out of town. 

He thought about going back to his room to get his things,but then he remembered he didn't have any things to get.There were certain advantages to traveling with nothing but the clothes on your back. 

As soon as he got his socks (those took some finding too) and boots on,he trudged down the hall and bought each of them a couple of overpriced sodas from the vending machine.They were too sweet for this early in the morning,but they were a solid caffeine hit,and frankly he never liked coffee that much. 

So,until they could find a phone that worked,they were on their own,but maybe that was a good thing.He'd be forced to think of something else. 

He went to the window and stared out of it.Naomi had a magnificent view of the parking lot and the convenience store beyond it,advertising 'cheap smokes' on their ratty sign (and the 'cheap' prices were twice what smokes would cost over the border in the States).The rain had finally ceased,as the gusting wind had blown some of the clouds away,making an odd partition in the sky:half of it was clear and blue,the type of hard grey-blue that always promised bitter cold;and the other half was filled with clouds as thick and black as death,angry thunderheads just waiting to unleash its wrath on the unwary. 


	5. Part 5

But in the clear patch of sky,he could see the ghost image of a sawtoothed ridge,white and pristine,like a mirage of desolation not rescue,and a faded snapshot of a memory best left forgotten.The Canadian Rockies. 

("The direct route is not always the best one,Wolverine.Every now and then,there might be something even you are not prepared for.") 

That strange woman's voice in his head again,surfacing like flotsam in a churning sea.Her voice was always precise,always perfect,and as cold as a machine.She was a machine-well,not literally.At least,he didn't think so. 

She could have been an implant of Shrike's-how deep that mindfuck went he had no idea-but he had vague memories of having heard the voice before,in nightmares.For all the bits of wisdom she spat out like bullets made of ice,something in his gut felt hollow and cold when he heard her voice.Something in him associated her with pain,with bondage and fear.He couldn't shake the feeling she had once taken something from him,something invaluable and precious. 

He could remember hearing her whisper,"You look so precious," in his ear,like a knife blade slicing into his mind;a statement as frigid as the Arctic,one he associated with the taste of blood and a sense of paralyzation,and a feeling so mindless it was hysterical.He thought if he could get loose he wouldn't even stop to kill her;he would simply run,and keep running.She was a monster,a hell of a lot scarier than that 'Alien' looking mofo he encountered in Los Angeles.  
Biologically he was sure she had been Human.But she had been born hollow,or made hollow. 

His hand was on the window sill,and he held it up towards the sliver of light coming in the one side.He could see some of the corpuscles beneath his skin,veins and capillaries,and when he flexed his hand,he was sure he saw the dark outline of submerged claws beneath his knuckles, waiting to come out.She was one of the ones who did this to him.That cold,cold bitch had tortured him,he was sure of it.One of his own personal Torquemadas. 

And yet he had a strange feeling that she had tried to keep him alive:at some point,she decided to try and pass on things that would keep him alive.It didn't make him like her better.On the contrary:if he ever met her,he'd gut her before she could even take a breath.He just didn't understand what her game was,or what he did.He had a sinking feeling he had done some very bad things he was probably better off not knowing. 

("Nobody gets me.") 

That he easily believed. 

("We have installations all over.But only people who know what they're looking for have any chance of finding them.") 

It took him a moment,but he realized that the woman had been referring to the mountains... and that gave him a flash of inspiration. 

Yes-they had to be all over the Rockies.Alkali Lake was there;the Big Empty was on its fringes. 

Even she had something up there,didn't she?He couldn't remember,but the thought brought back a scent of fire,smoldering chemicals,burning skin and hair... 

There was too much empty up there;so wonderfully isolated there was no end to the places to hide.Even loggers had to take a pass on much of the area.What wasn't federally protected land was just inaccessible within any sane boundary. 

Would it work?Had Torquemada ironically given him a key to salvation? 

"Logan?" 

The voice made him jump,and he almost popped his claws,but managed to restrain the urge.He turned around to find Naomi,hair wrapped in a towel around her head,body swathed in another towel,giving him a very strange look."Are you all right?" 

"I'm not sure,"he admitted,feeling like he'd been jarred out of another world,like he'd been on the razor's edge of remembering something...but of course now it was gone,fled like a thief in the night. 

It didn't matter-or at least he told himself that. 

"I may have a plan,but it'll probably get us killed.Do you still want to do this?" 

She gave him a slightly disbelieving look as she continued gathering up her clothes from the floor."Well,when you put it that way,how can a girl possibly say no?" 

He gave her a small smile in reply,and turned back to the window as she got dressed,staring out at the Rockies again,now mostly hidden behind gauzy grey clouds. 

This was either going to be the best move they could make,or the stupidest.But he sincerely hoped,no matter what happened,that he wouldn't lead Naomi into any sort of doom.If anything happened to her,he wouldn't be able to live with himself. 

But,if anything happened to him,he might be damn lucky to remember it. 

    12 

    Although she expressed some philosophical problems with stealing a car,Naomi actually saved him the trouble of having to hotwire one. 

In the parking lot of a seedy bar just two blocks over from the hotel,they found a nearly brand new all terrain vehicle,tan and brown with mud and snow splashed tires and bumpers,but oddly enough the license plate-and there was only one,in the back-had an unidentified government designation.Even Naomi felt a certain compelling need to take it,on the off chance it belonged to someone connected to the bastards who attacked them last night. 

And simply by touching the hood,she got the mother started. 

"Most of the time I just cause electrical fires,"she explained,as if embarrassed be her ability to do that."And you're driving,because you know what will happen if I do." 

Electrical failure,he supposed.But that was fine-he knew these mountains,she didn't.He planned to drive.Of course,he had no idea what he was exactly looking for,but he believed he'd know it when he found it.After all,he wasn't sure how he knew these mountains either.He just had the gut feeling he did. 

Due to her tendency to interfere with electrical wiring,she sat in the back seat,and also did some exploring in the back,finding out what the truck was loaded up with.As it turned out,supplies.  
She found a small emergency kit stashed in what looked like a big metal briefcase painted camouflage drab:water,dried food,emergency flares,blanket,basic first aid kit,fire extinguisher...gun. 

Just a semi-automatic nine millimeter pistol,nothing too major,but Naomi was startled to find it."Aren't these illegal in Canada?" 

"I don't think so,just hard to get,"he said,glancing at it in the rearview mirror. 

It might be handy,actually.He wondered if bullets would penetrate any of that armor,weak spots his claws might have missed.Of course,he had never fired a gun,but - 

("Yes you have.") 

That made him grip the steering wheel hard,and he had to ease off before it shattered in his hands.Had he?When?And,more importantly,why? 

On second thought,did he really want to know that? 

His basic plan was to take a long,roundabout way to Grand Cache;it would add a day or two to their journey,but it would make the bastards nervous,possibly even lead them to believe they weren't coming at all.Not that they'd count on that. 

The journey might be more roundabout than he thought.The storm had hit the mountains hard, causing mudslides that had shut down several roads,and if it was this bad down here,he knew there probably would have been at least one avalanche in the higher elevations.But the ATV was pretty sturdy,had a full tank of gas,and as he drove on,any signs of civilization giving way to towering stands of trees dusted with snow,their interlaced branches giving what sunlight there was a mottled appearance,he started to relax.Yes,he knew this place.This was the place of his dreams and his nightmares;it was the closest thing he had to home. 

The storm clouds had come back by the time the sky started to fade to violet,and when they stopped to get more gas and pick up any more supplies (well,food a bit more palatable than military MRE's),it occurred to him to check the ATV for a tracker. 

He'd already checked the interior and it was seemingly clean (and Naomi helpfully added if there was one,their electronics were so delicate she'd probably fucked it up anyways),so now he looked under the hood,knocked on the paneling to listen for any hollow sounds,and he even crawled under the car to see if he could find anything that looked like it didn't belong,but he found nothing remotely suspicious.It should have made him feel better,but it didn't. 

As they drove off,farther up into the mountain and farther away from civilization,white on white becoming the only thing they could see as the sky darkened and became overcast with snow clouds,Naomi-breaking the silence of a good twenty minutes-asked,"Do you think there's any chance she's alive?" 

She meant Maddy,of course,and it was not the first time she asked,but he knew the fear just didn't die.And now that they knew they were coming... 

"If she's even half as powerful as you,you'd better believe it,"he replied confidentially,not adding that she would be kept alive by any means necessary,because they'd want to use her like they used him. 

But looking in the rearview mirror,he saw her face darken as she looked out the window at the unrelenting snowscape,and knew that she had guessed that. 

Maybe death would have been better,he thought,glancing down at his knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel. 

    *** 

    The storm kicked in before true dark,bring near blizzard conditions with it. 

The snow didn't fall more than it plummeted,a cyclone of white that buried everything, including the road,in record time. 

Logan was used to driving in snow and ice and other adverse conditions,but even he had to admit this was bad. 

The headlights barely pierced the gloom,two narrow tunnels of light in the darkness,the snowflakes like swarms of insects falling through the beams.The ATV had snow tires as well as four wheel drive,but sometimes it would hit slush and slew a bit,the truck threatening to escape Logan's control,but he managed to get it back each time.Still,he knew he was probably lucky. 

Several roads had been closed due to the effects of the previous storms,but  others quickly became impassable due to this one.Where possible he just went off road,straight into the woods.There were roads that were not so much secret as little known and little used out here,and he knew these people-whoever they were-used them frequently. 

Tree limbs heavy with wet snow battered the truck as he drove under and through them,and a couple of time the earth seemed to go liquid beneath the tires,convincing him to get out on the paved roads again,as he knew he could survive a crash but he was fairly certain Naomi would not. 

"You drive scary,you know that?"She said groggily from the back,once the tree limbs began battering the ATV like zombies thirsting to get in.She had been sleeping,apparently,but he supposed it was late (his watch no longer worked-but that happened last time he was with Naomi too). 

After a number of hours of fighting snow,iffy roads,and howling wind,he was starting to feel tired,but it wasn't painful for him to ignore it yet.He had spent years learning how to go without sleep for as long as possible,to avoid nightmares he couldn't remember that woke him up sweating and screaming,and-worse-nightmares he could remember.Sleep,for as long as he could remember,was always an enemy;a time for the demons of his unconscious and his buried memories to come out and play.So he tried not to,sometimes staying awake to the point where his body simply gave out,or he'd start hallucinating,like that one time he thought he saw soldiers and men in HazMats suits in his headlights.Attempts to mow them down proved they were figments of his tired mind,and made him hit a telephone pole. 

"Maybe you should pull off,get some sleep,"Naomi suggested.He guessed it to be about four or five in the morning;he was starting to see light from an unseen,slowly rising sun reflecting off the bottom of clouds on the horizon. 

"I'm okay,"he insisted,aware that was not the complete truth.But he figured he'd have a couple more hours before he couldn't stay awake anymore. 

She reached up and touched the back of his neck;the electricity made his skin tingle.It made him gasp with a strange sort of pleasure as it also made him realize how tired he was."No you're not,"she said quietly. 

He hit of a patch of black ice and almost lost control of the truck,but got it back in time to see a large shape emerge in the black and white chiaroscuro of darkness:a 'road closed due to mudslides' sign.From what little his headlights could show him,it appeared to be an avalanche, not a slide. 

Cursing under his breath,he threw it into reverse and backed up until he could turn onto an access road that was almost knee deep in snow.Driving in it was like slogging through waist deep mud. 

"Oh,fuck it,"he snapped,throwing it into park and cutting the engine.At this rate,they'd cover about a foot in an hour,and he really was exhausted.He could barely see through the curtain of snow anymore. 

As soon as he killed the motor,he crawled over the front seat-not wanting to venture outside even for a moment-and into the back seat,which was actually more like the back half of the truck,as Naomi had put the seat down so it now blended with the back of the ATV.It didn't look especially comfortable,but at least it was roomy. 

Naomi lifted the near side of the silver emergency blanket,allowing him to slide in beside her.It was nicely warm,thanks to her body heat and tendency towards electrical surges. 

He couldn't help it;before he knew what he was doing,he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him,burying his face in her neck.She was so warm. 

But she wrapped herself around him,snuggling against him."See,isn't this better than crashing into a tree?"She murmured sleepily. 

"Having done that,I'd say yes,"he agreed.Even though he was so tired he though he could pass out,just being this close to her made his body respond to her in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with sleeping. 

"You've hit a tree?" 

"Well,it's more like it hit me.Long story." 

"I bet." 

The wind howled loudly outside the window,making the truck rock ever so slightly on its wheels.  
"If we get buried in snow,can you dig us out?"She wondered. 

"I was thinking you could zap it until it melted." 

"I am not a flamethrower,"she protested. 

"The maid back at the hotel might say otherwise."An accidental electrical discharge from Naomi had left a big black spot on the wall by the door;it looked like a Molotov cocktail had hit it. 

"That's it.Next time I need a can opened,we're using your claws." 

"Oh,very funny.I've never heard that before." 

After a minute of silence where they listened to the storm raging outside,a strangely peaceful sound like the roaring of the ocean,she said,"I can't believe how dumb I was." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Trying to do the platonic thing.I mean,why?So I could congratulate myself on my maturity and restraint before they erased my memory?"She scoffed,running a hand through his hair,trailing it down to the back of his neck where it came to rest,so warm on his skin it gave him goosebumps."I missed you,Logan,and...you're important to me.I just want you to know that in case something happens to me." 

"Nothing's going to happen to you,"he insisted,making it an oath,a promise he'd do his damnedest to keep."They'll have to get through me first." 

"Logan-" 

"I mean it." 

"I know you do,"she said,kissing the top of his head."But here I was,going to protect you instead." 

"I guess we'll have to watch each other's back,"he murmured,his eyelids too heavy to keep open. 

And in spite of the uncomfortable car seat and the snowstorm howling outside,for the first time in a long time,Logan fell into a peaceful,dreamless sleep. 

    13 

    Considering the numerous problems he was bound to have with the border guards-and a junked out '72 Pontiac with black spray painted windows probably paled in comparison to not having a passport,legal i.d.,or any proof of citizenship to any country on the planet-Angel had to basically sneak through the border. 

Luckily,he knew of a porous sort of place on the Washington-British Columbia border (used by both demons and drug traffickers alike) where he was able to sneak through.And as he drove towards Alberta,he wondered if Logan had found what he was looking for-or if it was just the people looking for him that had found him. 

Bad weather made driving difficult,and ultimately it didn't help that he wasn't all that familiar with Canadian roads anymore:things had changed a lot in thirty years. 

He got so lost he somehow looped back around and ended up back in British Columbia again. Some rescuer he was-he couldn't even figure out where the hell he was going. 

After some directions,he got back on the road going the right way,although the gas station clerk had never heard of Grand Cache.Angel figured he'd worry about it when he was in the right province. 

Even though the sky had opened up and rain continued to pelt down like a plague of frogs,he knew the sun had come up:he could smell it,feel it crawling on his skin,making him itch,but the cloud cover was so dense,the rain so utterly relentless,not a single ray of light broke through.At least the weather,as messy as it was,was cooperating with him. 

He stopped in the first moderately populated town over the Alberta border-the type that looked like it existed solely to service truck drivers and seasonal workers constantly passing through- and decided to ask for directions to Grand Cache. 

Angel chose a real greasy spoon of a diner,figuring the most knowledgeable people (at least about the roads) would be where the truckers hung out. 

In spite of the day being so overcast it was like dusk,he still felt uncomfortable venturing out without cover,and he felt desperately ill at ease,like he was going to burst into flames in spite of being soaked to the bone.He didn't,but he still felt the sun threatening him somewhere behind the slate grey clouds,a predator waiting to pounce. 

He'd hit the diner at a lull;there was only a handful of people in the torn red vinyl booths or at the white formica counter,although the place was far from quiet with a radio playing tinny country songs somewhere behind the front counter. 

The diner reeked of coffee,fried meat and eggs,and a small but potent whiff of cigarette smoke underneath.Smells that were probably pleasant to ordinary people but were almost nauseatingly overpowering to him. 

The waitress behind the counter,a sturdy woman in her mid-thirties with an unbreakable looking helmet of brunette hair,raised a painted on brown eyebrow as he came in."Can I help you,honey?"She asked,her voice as weary-and wary-as her wan blue eyes.It was probably a no brainer guessing he was not a trucker. 

Luckily,she knew where Grand Cache was,and as she drew him a hasty map on the back of a napkin,he felt eyes boring through his back.A casual glance up at the reflective surface of the huge silver coffee urn behind the counter-which did not show his reflection,although he doubted anyone even knew to look for that-showed a young man with black hair cut in a bristly,military style staring at him with wide,startled hazel eyes.He had recognized him-but Angel was sure he had never seen him before in his life. 

Casually he tossed a glance over his shoulder,making an idle comment about the weather to cover it,but the young man had already gotten up and left the diner,whipping a slim cell phone out of his coat pocket as soon as he was out the door,punching up a programmed number.He turned his back towards the panes of the front windows so Angel couldn't even attempt to read his lips,but he strained to hear as much as he could,and thought he caught two faint words:"...Dry Lake..." 

Shit.These guys were everywhere;Alberta must have been crawling with them. 

And he had just been made. 

He remained friendly and polite to the waitress,aware he couldn't rush her direction giving if he wanted to get where he was going,and also cognizant of the fact that these people-he couldn't help but think of them as the human army of darkness (AOD)-wouldn't attempt to 'collect' him in a public place.They would wait until he was in a more easily secured location,with fewer witnesses. 

And he had one thing over them.They were laboring under the mistaken belief that he was a mutant.That gave him an edge over them every time. 

He thanked the woman-whose plastic name tag over her left breast read Alice-and took the napkin with the scrawled directions to Grand Cache outside,only to find the young man gone.  
But probably not for long. 

Angel got into the sad blue,rust and primer spotted Pontiac,and on the second try got it started (it was running,but just barely;he figured,along with a paint job and extensive body work,it needed at least a new flywheel,a spark plug change,a general tune up,and possibly a new radiator).He drove out of the near empty,water covered diner parking lot and back out onto the main road,keeping an eye out for the suspicious vehicles sure to show up any second. 

He was not disappointed. 

As he pulled up to a rural looking intersection,he was met by two small,black military trucks,and a covered jeep,while a black car with opaqued windows seemingly came out of nowhere to pull up behind him.He was surrounded. 

Angel watched armed men come out of one of the trucks,and in his mind,he could imagine Logan commenting,"Ready to have some fun?" 

He sincerely hoped Logan was not having this much fun. 

    *** 

    The storm had cleared off enough that driving was somewhat easier,even if most of the open roads were as slick as hockey rinks. 

Of course,Logan figured it helped that he woke up in the afternoon.The morning could have been hell. 

There was a certain comfortable familiarity in driving these little used roads,the bleak white on white landscape studded with clumps of towering pines occasionally breaking up the monochromatic monotony of the scene.As much as he loathed the cold,he realized this was in his blood;bleak vistas of icy desolation,where snow muffled sounds and heat and made a natural barrier between him and the hostile outside world.The vicious bastards hid here,cowering from the light of scrutiny like cockroaches,like rats...but so did he. 

He didn't know if that was irony or simply a hideous coincidence. 

"You know I meant to ask you but I forgot,"Naomi said from the back seat,handing over a thermos filled with instant tea and bottled water:there wasn't a coffeemaker in here.It tasted pretty bad-like someone swept up sawdust off a bar floor and mixed it with really weak lemonade-but a splash of whiskey had made it more palatable.In fact,the more whiskey they added,the better it was."You got sort of a funny look on your face when I told you what my grandmother wrote." 

Maybe it was creeping amnesia,or maybe Naomi had too much of the liquid lunch."Huh?" 

"Back in Vancouver,at the restaurant?When I told you what my grandmother wrote about Maddy,that people were never the same after touching her?" 

"Oh.It just made me think of someone I know."He said,taking a swig of what Naomi insisted on calling 'commando tea' from the wide mouthed thermos. 

"Scorpion?"She wondered,taking back the thermos when he held it out to her.She took another swig,and he knew he should probably cut her off,but hell,how could he deny her a little portable courage?After all,they really didn't have time for any more sex...and he couldn't believe he ever thought that. 

He shook his head,and got back to the point."No.This girl I know back in New York.If she touches people she sort of...well,absorbs them.In the case of mutants,absorbs their abilities.If she does it long enough,she can kill you." 

"Wow.So who is this girl?"She asked,leaning over the seat and gently blowing on his ear.Oh man,how much commando tea had she had? 

"I mean girl,Naomi:fifteen or so.I generally like 'em legal,thank you." 

"Ah damn.I wanted to hear about ex-girlfriends." 

"I don't have girlfriends."Well...no,he didn't...not that he could remember... 

"One night stander,are we?I can't say I'm shocked,really.I bet women are all over you..."she teased,letting her fingers crawl up his neck like a spider. 

He shrugged,trying to remove her hand,and said,"I thought we were discussin' Maddy here." 

"Fine,Mister uptight,"she replied,letting out a very whiskey tainted sigh."You think she's like this girl?I think my grandmom would have mentioned if she'd accidentally killed someone." 

"I'm not saying she's like Rogue,I'm just saying that's who I thought of.I don't know why, really.Except,after she touches you,you're not the same.Well,not for a little bit,anyways.It's like getting a one hundred thousand volt enema." 

"Rogue?"She said,giving him a curious look in the rearview that quickly turned into a concerned frown."She touched you?Could you have been killed?" 

Yes,he could have been,and almost was.But there were times when death sounded like a bit of a novelty;something he was far overdue for.Sometimes it sounded like a dreamless sleep,and there were times when he would gladly embrace that.But he met her eyes in the mirror,and said,"Not really.I'm indestructible,remember?" 

"You are not-you're hard to kill.There's a difference."She rested her head against the back of his head,and he felt small tendrils of static snake through his hair and down his back."Please don't forget that,Logan." 

"I won't,"he replied,but he wasn't sure how honest he was being with her. 

A turn in the icy road brought into view a small cluster of building that looked hewn from raw ash and pine on the horizon,nestled between hills of snow and flats of asphalt,going for a semi-rustic Swiss chalet theme. 

He knew what it was too.It was the last rest stop before the main road split in two:one going up towards a ski lodge and run on the mountain-currently closed due to avalanche danger-one going to the main pass,which led out of the mountains,and towards Grand Cache.A glance at the fuel gauge indicated they didn't have the gas to make it. 

"Shit.Want to stop and stretch your legs?We need gas." 

"No.What I want to do is have a monster piss,and maybe get something hot to eat,in that order, although not in the same exact place." 

"You are a classy dame,"he replied,chuckling slightly. 

"Just your type,"she teased,flicking his ear before she sat back. 

"Absolutely,"he agreed. 

He wondered if the place was even open since the parking lot looked bare,but as he pulled up to the sheltered gas pumps,he saw a canary yellow Honda parked around back.With the lodge closed,and the storm continuing in the lower elevations impeding the truckers,they just must not have had a hell of a lot of business recently. 

"Want anything?"she asked,as she got out on the side farthest from the gas pumps.She didn't want to accidentally spark an explosion. 

"Something with caffeine,"he replied."And if they've got something decent in the food department,sign me up for that."He was starving,and she was right-hot food did sound good.He got tired of living on cold,prepackaged foods a long time ago.But when it was either that or bar food,usually the packaged stuff was far more sanitary,and never ran the risk of smelling like a trucker's armpit. 

She disappeared inside the biggest 'chalet',the store portion of the rest stop,and he could see some goods piled up in the windows:mainly lanterns,cold weather gear,random things travelers or skiers forgot at home or didn't know they needed. 

As he got out and filled the tank,the smell of gasoline acrid to his nose,he marveled at the peace. 

It was so quiet he could hear the hum of the generator in one of the smaller chalet outbuildings,its nearly subaudible drone echoing off the snowy cliffs that enclosed this place,making it something of a canyon.Save for the snowy hills behind the store,leading up to dramatically sloped cliffs full of scrub pines,melted snow sluicing down jagged rocks like miniature waterfalls.There was a peace in cold that couldn't be found anywhere else;snow really was like a blanket,smothering the land,strangling any noise before it had a chance to escape. 

As he watched the meter click over,counting the liters of gas being pumped into the tank,his breath exploding in white clouds before him,he noticed the hum from the outbuilding was getting louder. 

No,it wasn't. 

It was a different sort of noise-now that it was growing louder (closer),he realized it had a rhythm,a sort of familiar whirring sound... 

As soon as he identified the noise as a helicopter,he saw movement in the woods,and adamantium body armored soldiers poured out of the second outbuilding like ants from a disturbed hive. 

His first thought was to go to Naomi-he could not allow them to get separated again-but he knew he'd never make it. 

As snipers started firing from the woods above,he ripped open the back door of the ATV,going for the gun. 

If he couldn't kill these fuckers,maybe he could slow them down long enough for Naomi to get away. 

    14 

    Angel waited for the soldiers in the car behind him to get out,guns at the ready,and then he threw the car into reverse,hard enough to make the gears grind with a sickening sound of metal on metal.The men scattered,opening fire as the Pontiac smashed into their car. 

The rear windshield exploded inward as the bullets hit it,glass shards biting into the back of Angel's neck as he threw it into drive and hit the gas,plowing forward into a group of black clad soldiers,some of whom got out of the way,some who didn't. 

Those with guns opened fire,bringing the front windshield crashing down into his lap as he headed straight for the jeep across the intersection from him,bargaining that it would be easier to take out than either truck. 

At least one bullet punched through Angel's arm as one of his rear tires exploded,making the rear end of the car fishtail on the rain flooded road as he crashed into the front of the jeep,the impact throwing him hard against the steering wheel.But he kept his foot on the gas pedal,kept going forward,and with a screeching of metal the jeep flew aside,sliding straight into a drainage ditch on the side of the road as the Pontiac lurched forward,tires squealing and throwing up rooster tails of water,leaving the trucks and soldiers far behind him. 

They'd be after him in a second,and with his rear tire shot out they'd overtake him easily,so Angel,now being pelted with rain as hard as stone through the gap where the shattered front window used to be,turned off instantly into a weedy field,headed straight for a thick tangle of blackberry bushes that looked a foot taller than the car and at least twice as long. 

He pulled in behind the barrier shaped shrub and killed the engine,listening hard to the sounds of engines on the road as the rain tapped out hollow tattoos on the car,hoping the rain had made the field so muddy tracks wouldn't be immediately noticed. 

He listened patiently,and heard the trucks drive by,followed by one vehicle that sounded like it was dragging something metallic,but he didn't really know if it was the jeep or the car. 


	6. Part 6

It was still pouring,an afternoon as grey as night.Angel dug the bullet out of his shoulder, snarling at the pain,and started plucking the bigger pieces of glass out of his legs and chest.He knew he'd have to leave and find another car:what if it cleared up?No blackened windows meant a crispy fried Angel. 

He really didn't want to have to steal one,but he didn't know if he brought enough money to buy one. 

Shit.It was always something. 

He got out of the car,internally cringing even though the dark cloud cover swallowed the sun,and started walking in the pouring rain,across the muddy field,determined to be far from here before the commandos doubled back and found the smashed ruins of the Pontiac. 

"For once,you couldn't give me something easy?"He lamented,ostensibly to the Powers That Be,but he somehow doubted they were listening. 

Besides,when it ultimately came down to it,the worst these guys could do to him was kill him,if they figured out how.He was not a mutant. 

Logan was.In fact,he seemed to be their prized project. 

No matter where he was,Angel was fairly certain Logan had the worse end of the deal. 

    *** 

    Logan felt something hit the back of his upper right thigh,but it was minor;the soft sting of a bee as opposed to the burning sting of a wasp,so he knew it was not a bullet. 

He came out of the back seat firing the nine millimeter pistol (yes,he did know how to fire a gun) and several of the soldiers scattered,either hitting the ground or scrambling for cover,but hearing the bullets ping against and ricochet off the armor boded badly for this plan. 

The only cover,as vulnerable as it was,was the ATV,so he climbed inside as he kept firing,even as the windows were shattered by the snipers.He laid low,keeping his head beneath seat level as he reached with his free hand beneath the front seat,seeking an extra ammo clip. 

Only then did he realize his right leg was going numb,and he glanced down to see what looked like a thick black one inch needle sticking out of his leg.There were a couple on the floor too.  
The snipers weren't shooting bullets;they were shooting drug darts. 

And he wasn't immune to these drugs;he could feel it moving through his blood,a sluggish poison that made him feel every ounce of adamantium in his body.Fucking hell. 

A dark helmet appeared in the passenger side window,so he leaned back and fired point blank,the window shattering and slicing his scalp as it fell in a sudden cascade of prismatic shards.The bullet dyd an instant ricochet through the cab,but the  impact on the helmet was so great the man fell away with an audible 'oof' as the door at his feet opened,and another helmeted man appeared.Logan leveled the gun and fired. 

The gun clicked empty. 

He kicked out with his left foot instead,hitting him hard on the top of the helmet and making him fall back into his friends,but someone opened the door behind his head. Logan slammed back the butt of the empty gun,hard enough to make something crack. 

But the drugs were making it hard to focus,and Logan wasn't sure if he could stand up, nonetheless fight. 

They grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him out,someone jamming a paralyzer into his ribs before he even hit the asphalt,and he hit the cold ground as heavy as a stone,head bouncing on the concrete,unable to move.Although not for lack of trying. 

Soon there was nothing in his blurry vision but black legs in black boots,and inside his mind he screamed in frustration,rage and fear.They were not taking him back alive,they were not damn it!He was not going back there! 

But he didn't see how he could change it now. 

    *** 

    Naomi didn't even realize something was wrong until she came back from the bathroom. 

First of all,the clerk,a grey haired man in his early forties,was gone.Which was not necessarily odd-he could have gone into the back room for a minute-but she got the strangest feeling he hadn't. 

And she saw she was right when she looked out at the gas pumps. 

Logan was surrounded by commandos,they swarmed him like angry bees,and as she drifted to the front of the store,not quite believing what she was seeing,she saw a group of them drag Logan-who was limp and barely conscious,not moving at all-toward the road,where a sleek black helicopter was landing,scattering snow like confetti,making the nearby trees agitate violently in the backwash from the rotors. 

She felt cold all the way down to her toes,but she knew it wasn't due to the drafty store.  
Those fuckers!They were not taking him anywhere... 

Feeling her rage turn her stomach sour,like it was boiling in its own acid,she heard noises in the back room as she saw two separate phalanxes of soldiers moving in on either side of the store, guns raised high,obviously intending to collect her as well. 

Near the ATV,she saw one of the commandos desperately rip off his helmet and drop it on the ground as something else fell at his feet-an oxygen cannister?Something like that maybe.He bent over,placing his hands on his knees,gasping for breath.Maybe during the fight Logan had broken his breathing apparatus-the thought gave her a brief feeling of elation.But it was far too brief. 

The others had dragged Logan onto the main road,headed towards the chopper,as the soldiers scrambled to surround the store. 

Her rage focused on the blond commando taking deep breaths,trying to gather his bearings.With his helmet off,she could get him,even if she could get no one else.It was pointless,of course,but goddamn it,she wanted one of these bastards to hurt. 

She grabbed a can off the nearest shelf and lobbed it at the front window,shattering it and making the commandos surrounding the store fall back for cover.As the unhelmeted soldier looked up,startled,she fired a strong bolt of electricity towards him,one that left a metallic taste in her mouth. 

But at that very second,she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. 

Laying on the ground,just off to the right of the commando,was the gasoline pump nozzle,which must have been knocked from the truck in Logan's fight with the soldiers.With an emergency shut off valve,very little gas had escaped,but the tiny puddle had pooled beneath the soldier's boot. 

Oh shit. 

She instantly turned to run as soldiers burst out of the back room,and in spite of who they were,she shouted,"Run!" 

But when they showed no propensity to do so,she simply dropped to the floor and covered her head. 

Barely in the nick of time. 

The noise she heard was a deceptively soft 'whump',the small puddle of gasoline igniting due to a spark,but the next noise wasn't a noise at all:it was a force,a wave of superheated air that crushed everything like a tsunami,and before she lost consciousness,she wondered if the fireball was big enough to take out the helicopter and save Logan. 

    *** 

    Logan tried to fight against the soldiers,then the drugs rampaging through his system,but both were equally losing propositions. 

He knew they were dragging him towards a chopper-even if it was nothing more than a black blur in his cloudy vision,he knew the feeling of backwash,the thrum of the rotors that pummeled him like invisible fists-and he heard a door slide open as a man said,presumably into a radio,"Target one acquired.Please copy." 

Then distantly,somewhere far behind him,he heard a man shout,horrified,"Holy fuck!" 

Then it was like the world ended. 

A force,hot and a thousand times more powerful than the 'copter's backwash seemed to throw them all forward,and Logan hit the asphalt hard,this time on his face,as he couldn't move his arms to catch himself. 

There was a roar,a mythical beast enraged,and he could smell gasoline,burning wood and flesh,people screaming as a second explosion rent the air - 

Oh god,Naomi used her power around the pumps, he thought blearily,feeling nauseous with fear.Where was she?How close was she to the tanks when they detonated?Oh god no... 

He felt strong arms grab him around the shoulders and pull him into the chopper as someone shouted,"Take us up,now!" 

"In this?!"A woman shouted from the front.The pilot was a woman. 

"Do it!"The man shouted back,sounding frantic.Logan thought he could smell his fear. 

But he was stuck with his own fear,making his own dizziness worse.She was not dead;he refused to believe she was dead. 

"Target two?"A radio crackled,as he thought he felt reality starting to fall away beneath him-the 'copter was lifting off. 

"Crispy critter,"the man responded,sounding blase' about it,as if it was a given that was in no way his fault. 

As Logan succumbed to blackness,he felt cold as ice,beyond rage and in a very deadly space in his mind,as if his heart-or whatever was left in him capable of feeling anything but hate-had been ripped out. 

He was going to kill each and every one of these people.He didn't care how long it took,or what he had to do,but he was resolved to kill every single one of these motherfucking,murdering bastards. 

If Naomi was gone,so were they. 

    15 

    Angel had just boosted a car from a used car lot,a bit pissed at having burning his hands attempting to hotwire it and having to steal the keys instead (okay-so he wasn't any good at hotwiring),when he heard about a large explosion in the mountains on the radio. 

Just the mention of the Rockies made him wonder if there was a correlation between it and where Logan (and Electra?) were supposed to be heading. 

He knew for sure,with a sickening lurch of his stomach,when the radio attributed the explosion to an "electrical surge near a gas pump" at a rest stop on a mountain pass.Oh,damn it.What if he was too late? 

Survivors of the explosion were being taken to a hospital named Greater Lakes,so Angel decided to pay a visit,and see if there was anyone there he recognized. 

The parking lot of the hospital was a nightmare of ambulances and press,so Angel parked on the street and walked in,careful to avoid the camera's relentless eyes,glad it was night (although the rain continued to sheet down like bad news,so it didn't matter). 

Once inside,the front desk was so swamped with people and patients he had no hope of asking questions of anyone,so he decided to do what vampires theoretically did best:skulk and listen. 

He didn't have to for long. 

Cringing at the rank scent of gasoline,burned flesh and hair,he heard an orderly complain to a nurse,"What is going on with room four seventeen?All the electronics are spazzing out." 

Naomi?Good bet. 

Being as stealthy as possible,he snuck down the hall,past bodies both living and dead on stretchers that lined both side of the corridor,and did his best to figure out the hospital's numerical system. 

Through a combination of dumb luck and intuition,he took the right elevator to the right floor on his third try,and had no trouble finding the room:before he saw the numbers,he saw light flickering beneath the crack of the door,and knew this had to be the place. 

Just opening the door earned him a static electric shock,and as the door swung open he shook his palm,wondering why it had to be the one he'd previously burned. 

"Naomi?"he asked,as he saw a figure standing by the flickering bathroom light. 

She looked up sharply,and for a moment,he didn't recognize her.Her hair was shorter,dyed a sort of vivid neon maroon,and she was wearing only clearly stolen doctor's pale green drawstring pants underneath her white paper hospital gown.She also had a white plaster cast on her right forearm,and vivid patches of red on her face,throat,and arms-minor first degree burns,suggesting she escaped the worst of it,although he wondered if she got the deep purple bruises before or after the explosion. 

"Angel?"She asked,visibly shocked.The light overhead had been flickering like a strobe light,but in her shock it slowed its pulsing."What are you doing here?" 

He couldn't remember how much she had been told,and how much she believed,so he decided to just assume she was a skeptic."I was told you needed help,so I came to help." 

"Told by whom?" 

"Cordelia."Although true,it sounded lame. 

Still,she shrugged in grudging acceptance."Well,she's psychic,right?I guess that makes sense."She grabbed a doctor's scrub shirt from her unmade bed,and said,"They have Logan,Angel.We have to save him." 

He felt his heart sink.Well,theoretically."He's not here?" 

"No,"she said,turning her back to him as she shucked off her paper gown and pulled on the scrub shirt.Angel noticed her ribs were wrapped-a swath of white bandages encircling the center of her torso-and she had angry patches of red and splotches of blue-black on much of her uncovered skin.Since there was an explosion,he wondered if she'd been hit with flying debris:that would explain the extensive bruising,and might explain why she wasn't badly burned,if enough of the debris had covered her and protected her from the worst of the flames.Of course,it would have to have been flame resistant,or she'd have had to escape before it caught fire. 

When she turned back to face him,the loose scrub shirt hung off her like a potato sack,she had angry tears in her red rimmed eyes."They took him.I tried to stop them,but it wasn't enough.I blow up a fucking building and it wasn't enough." 

He knew she was upset-he heard a sharp,brittle snap overhead that made him instinctively duck,but it was just the florescent light tube breaking inside its fixture.She didn't comment on the cringe,so he presumed it was forgiven."It wasn't your fault,Naomi." 

"It was,"she insisted vehemently,tears streaming down her cheeks as her blue eyes burned like angry suns."I asked him for help finding my sister,I pulled him into this,and I got him captured by those fucking bastards who tortured him.It is my fault!" 

The light bulb in the bathroom exploded,sending glass shrapnel flying across the room,and Angel couldn't help but throw an arm up to shield his face,even though Naomi,presumably used to such things,didn't even flinch.But what was this about a sister?He was missing more back story than he thought."Maybe we ought to discuss this outside,if you're well enough to leave." 

"Fuck being well-we need to find him now,"she insisted,wiping a hand across her eyes."If they hurt him,I'm going to kill each and every one of them,Angel.This whole thing will be a fucking tea party compared to what I'm going to do to them." 

Over two dozen people dead,and a huge flaming crater that broke a highway in the mountains. Angel didn't want to see what she was capable of doing if she got really pissed off. 

But he feared he might anyways. 

    *** 

    Kruger looked in on Logan,strapped down to a diagnostic table,machines bleeping as they monitored his vital signs,lights casting a blue and green glow over him in the dimly lit room,making him look otherworldly and eerie. 

Hit with a newly formulated tranquilizer that was fifty times more powerful than morphine, and given a dose that should have put a couple of bull elephants down for a few days,he was still close to regaining consciousness.You had to hand it to Logan's mutation-nothing kept him down for long.If they could isolate those specific genes and inject them into soldiers,they'd have an unstoppable,virtually indestructible army. 

But then they'd be,by definitions,mutants,and that very idea was abhorrent. 

He knew there were some dubious people who suggested that mutants were just the next step in evolution,but they were mutant fuckers,no better than mutants themselves. 

Mutants were aberrations;genetic mistakes,like people born with extra chromosomes.He was tempted to blame it on the modern world-chemical exposures,EM fields,radiation-but Logan shot that idea to hell.He predated the modern world,whether he knew it or not. 

Still,maybe his family-or at least his mother-was exposed to something strange,even that long ago.Or she was the carrier of an odd but latent genetic mutation-a devastating error,a throwback to an evolutionary dead end-that only expressed itself in her freakish mistake of a son. 

But it was impossible to know-no trace of Logan's family had ever been discovered;it was like he materialized out of nowhere.And even if they could find them,it would be in some geneaologist's record books.Anything related to him must have died long ago. 

Like he,by all rights,should have done.He should have died a half a million times,but,like a guest with no sense of decorum,he never knew when to leave. 

But he was a great soldier for their cause.The best there had ever been;the best they'd be able to construct.At least so far-he held out hope they'd eventually make something better,and consign Logan to the graveyard where he rightfully belonged. 

He heard the door open behind him,and without having to look,he knew it was Sanders.Who else lived to vex him? 

He was silent for a full thirty seconds,coming to stand beside him at the two way mirror through which he viewed Logan,and then Sanders commented,"Hairy bastard,isn't he?" 

Kruger wanted to sigh,but restrained the urge,as it was remarkably pointless.There were probably forceps smarter than Sanders."Did you think he'd be bald as a mannequin?" 

Logan had been stripped of his shirts (his jacket was partially flashburned anyways) so they could fit the electrodes better on his torso and spine.The ones fitted to his neck and temples were technically more important,but he had wanted to do a full work up,to see if anything had changed between now and when he had been with the Organization.The results were not so surprising:no change.Fifteen years,and nothing had changed.Not a cell. 

Insane-it was insane.Everything he knew told him this could not be so;and yet there was the proof,laying half naked on the steel table,looking for all the world like a decomposing corpse,save for the regular rising and falling of his chest,and the adamantium bonds holding him down to the table. 

Around his wrists and ankles,they were only meant to protect the workers from him during his few lucid moments.Rhe silver semi-circles looked frail;not even a minor second's hesitation to the beast on the table.But,being adamantium,even he couldn't shatter them. 

"Well,no.But why's his hair like that?"Sanders asked,noisily chewing on some gum."Did the explosion do that?" 

Kruger crossed his arms over his chest,refusing to answer.He noticed on the brainwave monitor that Logan was very close to consciousness now.Time to summon the telepath. 

"We fried Electra.Wasn't that a no no?"Sanders  said,as Kruger reached for his radio. 

"She fried herself." 

"Still..." 

"And she may not be dead.We were unable to secure the scene,and there have been reports of a female survivor." 

Kruger had no idea if Logan had looked for a tracker on the truck or not,but even if he had,he'd never had found it:it was inside the engine block,so deep he'd have to taken it apart to retrieve it.Some occasional electrical interference seemed to indicate that the ATV was indeed stolen by their fugitive mutants. 

The seizure of them at the rest stop was textbook,except for Electra's unpredictable,suicidal outburst.But maybe it was accident on her part-who knew?And the arrival of a trucker who'd already radioed in the explosion left them scrambling to recover any incriminating evidence before rescue units arrived. Many of their men,dead or dying,were in a civilian hospital. 

A woman had been said,by the trucker,to have crawled out of the wreckage of the burning store;it would make sense,since all the soldiers that survived (not many-a handful,compared to two entire units dead:some burned,others simply flash fried in their stifling armor) were in the back of the store. 

"Can we confirm that?Can we take her there?" 

"The third unit's leader went up to her room,but she was gone.We believe she snuck out of the hospital,possibly in the company of Angel,who eluded team seven earlier in the day,apparently on his way here." 

Sanders stared at him in wide eyed disbelief."We need to go get them.Now!" 

"No we don't.They'll come to us." 

"Even after they got their asses kicked?" 

"Yes.Electra wants her sister,and now she wants Wolverine." 

"Why would she want him?" 

"Because I think the freaks love each other,idiot."Kruger had seen the recordings of the failed attempt to collect them the first time.Logan had a clear shot to leave,but didn't take it.His only concern seemed to be protecting Naomi,which struck him as curious indeed.Why would a thing like Logan even care?But even animals were capable of feeling something for each other. 

"Wow.Really?"Sanders sounded as amazed as Kruger did when he first realized it.Sanders looked in at the slowly rousing Logan,who,while not fully awake yet,was starting to tug against the bonds,an unconscious reaction to being restrained.It had happened enough in his life it was probably autonomic now. 

He almost felt sorry for the bastard.It wasn't his fault he was born a freak. 

But he was still going to pay the price. 

    16 

    Naomi woke to the feeling of Logan's beard scratching against her skin as he nuzzled her throat. 

She sighed,enjoying the feeling of his warm body,of his lips against her skin,and ran her hands down his back.She could feel muscles like coiled springs beneath his strangely smooth and flawless skin,although his spine,barely submerged beneath a thin layer of flesh,felt odd in ways she could not quantify.But she knew it had to be the adamantium,somehow coating his spinal column without fusing it together. 

She trailed her fingers down his back as he gently scraped his teeth down to the hollow of her neck,and heard him make a noise low in his throat that almost sounded like growling.She didn't think he was actually growling,but it never failed to make her smile. 

She felt him move his body on top of hers,careful not to crush her with his weight,as his lips brushed down to her chest,his breath hot against her skin,his fingers moving gently over her ribcage. 

(But my ribs hurt-why do they hurt?And my arm...) 

She ran her hand through his dark hair,hearing the electricity crackle through it,and arched her back,pressing against his hard body as much as she could.They had more than chemistry together:it was truly electric,a static attraction as palpable as a spark.And when he was gone, she had missed him,but physically it went beyond even that;sometimes she seemed to crave him like a drug. 

And that's why she was so reluctant to get involved with him again.She didn't like the idea of someone having that much power over her,even if it was inadvertent.Also,there was no future here;they were both loners by nature.Any relationship between them was utterly doomed. 

But who needed a relationship?What was wrong with a little lust? 

It was then she felt warm metal penetrate her stomach,pinning her to the bed. 

She opened her eyes and gaped in wide eyed horror. Logan had popped the claws of his right hand,and stabbed her. 

Looking up into his face,she saw his lips curled back into an angry snarl,his green eyes as cold and empty as ice caves;pitiless,merciless. 

"You killed me,"he growled,in an angry,inhuman voice,as the taste of blood flooded her mouth. 

She jolted awake with a gasp,and for a moment she thought she was in a hearse.She was in the back of a black car,with black windows... 

"Naomi?You okay?" 

She looked towards the front seat,and saw Angel on the driver's side,looking back over his shoulder at her. 

She dry washed her face as her bearings came slowly back to her."Yeah,I'm fine,"she lied. 

Right-they were on their way to Grand Cache,although Angel was sticking to the more traditional,lower roads.And his car,for some unfathomable reason,had windows spray painted black,making her wonder if he had the same infrared vision thing that Scorpion had.Otherwise she had no idea how he could possibly see through them. 

As it was,dawn was arriving;she could almost see things through the window.Well,fuzzy blobs, but that was better than before. 

"Nightmare?"He guessed. 

"Yeah."Her ribs did hurt a bit;she'd forgotten she'd cracked a couple.Her arm didn't hurt more than it simply itched like mad beneath the cast. 

"About Logan?" 

She didn't want to know how he knew that.Well,it was probably just the most logical conclusion."Yeah.How close are we now?"She had to change the subject,because she really didn't want to talk about it.Angel seemed like a nice enough guy-if Logan was willing to trust him,that was good enough for her-but she really didn't know him that well. 

He seemed to get that she didn't want to talk about it,and he turned back towards the front, somehow watching the traffic as he drove."There was a roadblock up ahead,and the guys looked too military for comfort,so I had to take the long way around.But we're back on the highway now." 

She grimaced,and wondered if they'd ever stop.How did you defeat an enemy that seemed to multiply like rabbits?She glanced in the rearview mirror,hoping to catch his eyes,but realized there were no eyes to catch.She leaned forward,in case the mirror was at an odd angle,but it didn't show him at all.He wasn't there. 

"What is it?"He asked,confirming he was looking in the mirror,even though she had no proof of that. 

"Do you know you have no reflection?" 

"Umm,yeah.I'm a vampire." 

She sat back against the vinyl seat as she considered that."Seriously?I thought that was just your name for it." 

"My name for what?" 

"Your mutation." 

"No,I'm not a mutant.I'm a...well,demon." 

"Oh.What's the difference?" 

"Mutant or not,you're still human.I'm not."He paused briefly."Well,no,I was.But technically I'm dead." 

"Oh."She knew this should surprise her-or at least convince her he was dangerously insane-but he seemed perfectly sincere,and almost embarrassed about it.And her life had gotten so strange she wasn't sure anything had the power to surprise her anymore."Is that why they can't kill you?Because you're already dead?" 

"No,"he admitted hesitantly."I can be killed,but only in very specific ways." 

She combed her mind for any knowledge on vampires.She remembered watching those old horror movies..."Stake through the heart?" 

"That's the most effective one." 

"Holy shit-sunlight,"she realized,looking around at the blackened windows."Should we be hiding you in a coffin or something?" 

He huffed a sigh through his nose,shoulders sagging as if she'd said something very disappointing."See,I hate that myth the most.Vampires don't sleep in coffins,or on Transylvanian dirt:we can sleep wherever the hell we want.And after digging yourself out of your own grave,believe me,you never want to see dirt again.Also,I really don't have a problem with garlic.I like spaghetti...well,the smell-" 

"So you're okay to drive?"She had a feeling this was a long,heartfelt rant,and she just wasn't ready to endure it just now. 

He sat back against the seat,probably frowning,but she really couldn't tell from this position. "Yeah,I'm fine as long as the windows are dark enough to filter it out." 

Had he really said 'dig yourself out of your own grave'? 

She wrapped her arms around herself,and tried not to shiver.Wouldn't that give you a complex? 

Naomi had a feeling she might know soon enough,although in a more straightforward way.She felt she was digging her own grave,and verging on diving in. 

She just hope she had not dug it for Logan as well. 

    *** 

    It was the smell that got to him first. 

Sterile and still redolent of hot machinery,hot enough to burn the dust that landed on it,giving the cool,forced air a sort of an undertone of ozone and a scent that could only be described as static. 

It was a familiar scent.Logan knew it,but he didn't know how he knew it.All he knew was that it turned his blood to ice,his stomach to stone,and made something in his mind instantly cower,as if it had any hope of hiding deep inside his skull. 

They had him.He was back in their lab. 

He remembered now.The attack,the explosion...Naomi.Oh god no. 

The thought of her death left a cold,hollow pit in his chest that throbbed like an open wound that was in no hurry to heal itself,and overwhelmed his instinctive,atavistic fear with a cold, murderous rage. 

He had to survive this and bide his time,choose his moment carefully.Because he was going to kill them.At least Shrike gave him some idea of how to blow these fucking places up.He would use that knowledge well.If he couldn't stop them all,at least he could stop these fuckers,and get some revenge for Naomi. 

God damn it.Maybe it was better she died rather than be taken captive;maybe that's what she thought.But already he missed her,mourned her,and hated the entire fucking world. 

He didn't even tug at the shackles;he could feel them,almost tight enough to cut off blood circulation.But it wasn't like he was in danger of dying from gangrene,was it? 

Logan didn't smell anyone in the room with him yet,but he knew he was being watched;he could feel their eyes drilling through him like ice picks. 

He opened his eyes without hesitation,ready to fight an enemy he was helpless against (but only for the meantime-if he played this right,he'd get a chance,they'd slip up or let their guard down.He just hoped he was patient enough to wait for it). 

The room was dimly lit,but completely metallic,like a coffin lined with tin foil,so the light bouncing off every surface made it more than adequate to see by.There were lights somewhere behind his head,blue and green,LED displays that bleeped and hummed with the rhythms of machines.He felt the electrodes on his body,the conductive gel sealing them to him still cold. 

A door opened-he heard the pneumatic hiss off to his left,and he turned his head to see who or what came in-and at first the doorway was so dark he couldn't make the figures out.But he could smell them. 

One human,and one mutant. 

The human-presumably a Doctor-looked like the stereotypical mad scientist in a black and white horror flick:tall and thinly cadaverous,he was like a stick figure miraculously given life and dressed in a grey jumpsuit.His skin was as fishbelly pale as his long white lab coat,as if he spent all his time locked up in here,and his narrow face came to a sharp point at his chin, making his cheeks look sunken beneath small,recessed eyes that were little more than dark pits beneath his wide brow."Good morning,Logan,"the man said in a thin,reedy voice,obviously gloating as he attempted a smile.But his thin lips pulled up over small white teeth that looked ironically rodential:it wasn't a smile more than it was a distasteful grimace,the expression of a laughing man who just bit down hard on his own tongue."Welcome back home." 

"Eat me,"he snapped,looking past the shoulder of the balding,middle aged doctor to the mutant standing beyond him. 


	7. Part 7

The mutant was average height and weight,and about fifteen years younger than Doctor Rat,and had shaven his head (or was he naturally bald?) so his scalp gleamed in the half light like a brass doorknob.His face was stark,not striking in a handsome way but in a startling way,like you just knew there was something wrong with his face but you couldn't say what for sure,since he seemed to have all the parts arranged in the right approximate order.Maybe it was his eyes-dark and hard as stone,they seemed to age him half a million years,and went with the all black wardrobe he wore...and oh come on,was he actually wearing a cape?!"What the fuck are you doing here,Lex Luther?This ain't the Marilyn Manson concert." 

The mutant frowned at him,his coal black eyes smoldering like embers."That's almost amusing, Wolverine.But the name is Morpheus." 

"Uh huh.And my name is Mary Poppins." 

"Whatever you're into,Mary,"Morpheus replied coolly. 

"All this childish bickering is beyond the point,"Ratboy interrupted."No,Logan,I'm sure you realize resistance is pointless." 

"Resistance is never pointless,"he replied,although the sentiment felt like a hollow platitude. 

Ratboy smirked at him like he was a relentlessly stupid pupil."Yes it is,and if you had any memory,you'd remember that.But I expected beligerence on your part,Logan-you're famous for it." 

"I thought I was famous for my stunning good looks,"he replied,evenly split between cold fury and icy fear.But he refused to let the fear show,even if mutant Uncle Fester there could smell it. 

Ratboy sighed wearily."You'd make this so much easier on yourself if you just told me what you remembered about Alkali Lake,Logan,but I know you like things the hardest way possible." 

"You just said yourself I have no memories,"Logan shot back in disbelief."But you want a summary of what happened at Alkali Lake?Torture chamber go boom,asshole." Just like this place is going to,he thought,and it took an effort of will not to say it. 

Ratboy rolled his pale brown eyes,and pretended to smooth back hair from his forehead,but most of his remaining hair-pathetic black strands that looked like scrawny kudzu vines,clinging desperately for purchase and life in a desert-was at the back of his head,so he never actually touched any."You're lucky you're not replaceable-yet.I hope you realize that." 

"I realize you're a dick among dicks;King Prick." 

"Hostility will not help you,Logan." 

"Fuck off and die,Klaus." 

That really made Doctor Rat scowl."Morpheus,find what I need,"he said coldly,stepping aside to let Fester move in. 

Only then did Logan realize the marvelous mutant boy was a telepath. 

Logan steeled himself,wondering how he could fight this,and as Fester held a hand about six inches over his head-just far enough that he couldn't bite a chunk out of it-he said,"Does being a traitor to your kind pay good?" 

Morpheus's dark eyes were disdainful."I'm not a traitor.You're not 'my kind'."He then closed his eyes,and Logan closed his own eyes,determined to fight him off if at all possible.If he could only figure out how. 

    17 

    Kruger was so angry he felt like getting a gun just so he could pistol whip Logan,the smug bastard freak.He had such open contempt for him,like Kruger was the inhuman beast instead of him.He knew from having read the file on him that the uncontrolled Logan was savage and incorrigible,belligerent and impossible to reason with,but he had no idea of the sheer arrogance of the man.And what exactly did he have to be arrogant about?He was a fucking mutant freak; the hominid equivalent of a dodo. 

How smug would the bastard be when his mind was ripped apart?Well,what little there was of it. 

Kruger stood back and waited for Morpheus to find what he needed,so they could subject this bastard to Lethe and get it over with. 

    *** 

    A millisecond before this bastard commenced reading his mind-or he thought he did-Logan had a bit of a revelation. 

Jean tried to read his mind and jumped back as if he'd given her an electric shock;Icara screamed and lapsed into a psychic coma because she couldn't take so many of his memories at once.Maybe the key was there-they wanted memories,huh?Maybe he should give it to them. 

All of it.They could choke on them. 

He instantly focused on all the memories and nightmares he had done his best to forget. 

If Doctor Rat wanted Alkali Lake,he'd get it.Logan focused on his last nightmare,of laying in that tepid green goo,paralyzed,unable to move or even scream as the men in Hazmat suits (maybe some women-he didn't know;those suits were sexless) loomed over him in his vivisection tank.In this particular nightmare they were giving him a Y incision,the kind most often used when opening up the chest of a corpse for an autopsy.As much as he internally winced at the memory,he concentrated on the feeling of the cold metal scalpel as it sliced through his skin and muscle,the brackish hued water turning black with his blood as they peeled his chest walls wide open,exposing the bones of the sternum... 

Logan opened his eyes as soon as he heard Morpheus scream. 

Fester crumpled up as if hit and slammed back against the wall,beside what had to be a two way mirror.Goth Boy sank into a protective crouch,covering his head as he continued his horrified yelping,but he never quite hit the floor. 

"What is it?What?"Doctor Rat exclaimed impatiently. 

Fester used the wall to help himself stand as he continued to make a strange noise,a gulping sob that almost sounded like a gag."Jesus fucking christ,Jesus fucking christ!You never said anything about-"he swallowed hard,almost stammering,his face as white as milk,all trace smugness gone.His black eyes were as wide as gold coins and as dark as wells in his flaccid, horror stricken face."-surgery,operating on him without amnesia.Holy fucking christ,holy fucking christ..." 

"What in the hell is your problem?"Doctor Rat spat at Fester,unmoved by his protestations. 

But Morpheus just gestured vaguely at Logan,unable to meet his eyes.His eyes seemed unwilling to alight on anything now,as if the memory would play back if he just stopped to rest."Jesus fucking...forget it,I can't...I can't...I'm out-get someone else."He staggered towards the door,nearly crashing into it before it opened and let him out,and before it closed Logan thought he heard retching. 

"Pussy,"Doctor Rat muttered under his breath.He then turned his rodential,avaricious gaze on Logan."What the fuck did you do?" 

Logan glared up at his deathly gaunt face,unable to keep from sneering even as that unearthed memory seared through his own mind like fire (it was all he could do not to start shaking like a fucking rabbit in fear),and said,"Nothing.Some people just can't handle the truth." 

He knew he would pay for this.And he knew that Doctor Rat and his cronies would probably ultimately get whatever it was they wanted from him. 

But it was all worth it for the look on his face. 

    *** 

    Kruger had never felt this angry. 

It was somewhere beyond rage:he could hear his heart thudding in his ears and heat making his face flush as his hands clenched into fists at his side. 

Logan had done something.He didn't know what,exactly,but that smug smirk on his face confirmed it.He wanted to punch the leer off his stupid,arrogant face,but in Logan's case the cliche 'this will hurt you more than me' was very true.  
Swallowing back the black rage like bile,he pulled his radio out of his coat pocket,and thumbed it on."Intercept Morpheus.Terminate him on sight."He'd be damned if that cowardly little chickenshit ever set a foot outside again. 

"Copy,"an anonymous voice spat back over the radio. 

"And I need a soldier with a sidearm in here now,"he added,before putting his radio back.He didn't need to wait for confirmation there. 

"That scared of me,Ratboy?"Logan sneered. 

Kruger glared at him hatefully,seething so much he could barely speak."I'm going to watch you bleed,Logan." 

He heard the door open,but it was too soon to be the soldier.Who else could it be but the bane of his existence?"What the fuck is going on?"Sanders exclaimed,barging in."I sneak out to go to the can,and I come back to find everything's all diddly fuck.Some asshole just capped Morpheus in the hallway,and he said you ordered him to do it." 

"I did.In spite of what faith HQ may have in him,he wasn't up to the task at hand.I need a professional,not someone's mutant lapdog." 

The door opened again,but this time it was a soldier who came in,a thick necked,thick bodied recruit who looked terminally bored."Is there a problem,sir?"He asked Kruger,his small grey eyes sizing up the rumpled suited Sanders as if he was the threat. 

"No.I just need your weapon,"Kruger replied crisply,holding out his hand. 

The soldier almost showed an emotion,but he stifled it quickly and unholstered his gun,handing it over butt first. 

"What are you doing?"Sanders asked him,sounding like he was on the verge of a major snit. 

Kruger ignored him and turned towards Logan,who seemed to know what he planned to do,making him smarter than Sanders. 

The fear in his eyes was furtive,quickly replaced by that arrogant,hateful glare,but Logan's muscles remained tense,as if he was simultaneously bracing for and cowering from certain, painful blows."You're a cowardly piece of shit,"Logan sneered,attempting to hide behind his anger."I'm gonna love watching you die." 

Kruger raised the gun,which felt heavy and cold in his hands,and pulled the trigger. 

The recoil was incredible for such a small weapon,so he had to hold it with both hands as the armor piercing bullets slammed into Logan,his skin bursting open explosively where they sliced through his flesh and bounced off his adamantium laced bones,ricocheting into the walls,which splattered with his tainted mutant blood. 

Sanders,the coward,hit the floor to avoid the rebounding bullets,but the soldier,after briefly wincing,kept his place as Kruger emptied his semi-automatic handgun into Logan. 

Even as his flying blood hit him in the right eye,temporarily blinding him,Kruger fired until the chamber clicked empty,and the room was so full of smoke it enshrouded them like a heavy fog. 

Logan's body was as holey as Swiss cheese,sporting bloody perforations from head to feet,but as Kruger watched,the red rimmed holes on his naked torso started to seal shut,like they were design errors being erased by a computer program.It was almost as if his wounds were mocking him.Logan was unconscious,his bloody head lolling to the side,the impact of several bullets in his skull probably knocking him out for the meantime.He hoped it hadn't happened too quickly. 

Sanders finally stood as Kruger handed the now hot gun back to the soldier."Thank you,"he said,barely able to hear his own voice for the ringing in his ears,the stink of gunpowder foul to his nostrils. 

"What the fuck!"Sanders exclaimed angrily,his eyes bulging to the point that Kruger wondered if they might fall out."You can't kill him like that!And you ain't supposed to kill him anyways, fuckface!" 

"You never watched the tapes in the archive?"Kruger said,sneering at him disdainfully.If there'd been one more bullet in the gun,he'd have used it on him."They used to empty their weapons into Wolverine when they got bored.He has been fully stress tested:shot,stabbed, suffocated, poisoned,bludgeoned.He came back from everything eventually.It hurts him-it has to hurt to have a magazine of high velocity lead fired into-but never for long enough."Dozens of holes on his face,throat,chest,stomach,and legs healed over as he watched,the edges of his skin knitting back together,leaving only splashes of blood behind to prove he had ever been injured at all.He scowled in bitter disappointment,feeling excess acid burn at his stomach."That's why we want him back so badly,Sanders.His personality,frankly,sucks-he is savage and belligerent, disagreeable and impossible,ill bred and ill mannered.But he can kill,Sanders,better than anyone.And this motherfucker just won't stay dead." 

As much as I wished it,he thought angrily.It looked like all his wounds had healed,too,which just made him that much more furious. 

He hoped it was just the noise of the gunshots that kept him from hearing Logan scream,but he feared the animal was so accustomed to pain he hardly even felt it. 

But before he handed Logan over to Lethe,he was going to hear this bastard mutie scream. 

    18 

    Angel knew,as soon as he saw Grand Cache,that they were in trouble. 

It was a little town,remarkable for nothing save for its proximity to the Canadian Rockies,and that's how it made its money:it existed only for truckers,skiers,and tourism.As soon as they entered town,they'd stick out like a sore thumb. 

If they could enter town-it seemed there was a roadblock here too,headed by blatantly military men.It was for 'safety reasons',somehow related to the explosion up in the mountain pass,and Angel turned them around before they reached the block,hoping to find another way into town.  
It then suddenly dawned on him that anywhere they went they'd stick out,because Naomi was wearing nothing but surgical scrubs and her salvaged boots.She realized that too,and suggested they stop at a very sad little strip mall outside of town to get her something less conspicuous to wear.But she wanted him to gear up too. 

"If you don't want them to recognize us within ten feet,pick one:logger or skier,"she said crisply, and he swear he saw a miniature spark briefly arc between her dark eyelashes. 

He went with logger-at least they wore earth tones. 

And he was growing increasingly worried that this was a suicide mission.Naomi was so upset she was radiating electricity;standing within five feet of her made the hair on his arms stand on end,and usually he had to be in very close proximity for that happen. 

She obviously continued to blame herself for Logan's capture,unwarranted,since she could do precious little against men prepared to take on a woman who shot electricity from her hands and a man who had unbreakable adamantium claws in his hands.But Angel knew it went deeper than that,and it made things all the worse.She loved Logan,didn't she? 

He wasn't sure she knew,but he was getting the vibe that she did (does),and that explained perhaps why she reacted without thinking,shooting out high intensity electricity around a leaking gas pump.Love was dangerous sometimes;it made you act from your gut,not your head. And it also sparked something deeper than rage when the person you loved was hurt;it was black and murderous,beyond reason.He knew both of those from experience. 

But in someone like Naomi,gifted like she was,it wasn't an accident waiting to happen more than it was a global catastrophe waiting to happen.He almost felt sorry for whoever took him, because were they in for a world of hurt.Angel bet Shrike's flash frying was a handshake compared to what she had in mind for them. 

He couldn't blame her,either.Men so sadistic to do what they did to Logan in the first place were capable of anything,and Angel was trying hard not to count the hours Logan had been in their custody,but it was difficult not to.He was also trying hard not to think about what would happen if they were too late,and Logan was bad again.He didn't think he'd be lucky enough to walk away from a rematch with Wolverine. 

It was difficult to shop,as Naomi's increasingly restless power made the store's anti-theft devices spark and smoke,scaring the shopkeepers (luckily,there were no other customers at the time),and also she made their clocks and cash register stop working.He was happy to get her out of there before she accidentally sparked another major fire. 

He felt ludicrous in his new clothes-flannel lined jeans and a brown plaid flannel shirt,with a thermal t-shirt underneath (not that he needed it,but it seemed to be part of the Alberta dress code this time of year),and a fleece lined jacket that wasn't too bad,although he missed his duster (at least she let him keep his boots).She looked better in hers,although she said she was going for 'hitchhiker/town pump' (nice):tight flannel lined jeans,an even tighter red sweater,and a fleece lined bomber jacket about two sizes two big for her.But he wasn't sure the black leather jacket was a good choice for her,as she was still so upset the silver zippers occasionally shed blue sparks like melting snow. 

The final touch (according to her) were polarized sunglasses that supposedly kept out 'snow glare',but also hid their eyes.And because her unnaturally red hair was unmistakable,she tucked it all up in a black knit hat,making her look very tomboyish in spite of the tight clothes. 

He found an alternate route that took them into Grand Cache by mid-afternoon,but Angel was unable to shake a growing suspicion that this had all been far too easy. 

In fact,as he talked it over with Naomi,it became clear it was meant to be. 

"They may have Logan now,but they're still expecting you to come too,"he said,nervously glancing in the rearview as he drove through the almost quaint little town that seemed to have a rot beneath its surface he could almost-but not quite-smell."And probably me as well. They'll be ready for us." 

"No,they'll be ready for me,"she countered,glancing out the blackened back window.The rain had turned to a sort of sleet here,the sky as grey as asphalt,and that made driving even more treacherous,but fewer people were out in it."They still think you're a mutant,right?They won't know how to handle a vampire." 

He rolled his shoulders in a hesitant shrug."No.But I'm just as useless as you against that armor. I've had the misfortune to punch Logan before,and if the armor's like him...well,I'm screwed." 

She considered that a moment,then said,"It can't be hopeless,Angel."Naomi then offered up a plan to get them inside the complex,whenever they found it,and Angel listened to it patiently, letting her finish before he spoke. 

"You're insane,"he said calmly. 

"Can you think of something better?"She shot back. 

He had to admit he couldn't,but he was trying when she suddenly said,"Pull over." 

"Why?" 

"Because I just saw the same kind of ATV Logan and I stole parked outside that store over there," she said,pointing back towards a small convenience mart they had just driven past on the left. "That means we have a couple of the buggers in town.And I want them." 

"Naomi,revenge won't-" 

"I'll make them tell us where Logan is,"she growled,and the car engine seemed to sputter. 

It had sounded like a request,but it was an order:she could stop this car dead whenever she wanted.And,like Logan,she could hurt him and make it stick for quite a while.He didn't think she would intentionally,of course,but she was so upset right now it could be a tragic accident. 

There were so few cars in the street he did a U-turn and easily swung back into the nearly empty parking lot. 

He hadn't even stopped the car before she got out of the back seat and started walking towards the store."Hey,shouldn't we have a plan?"He wondered,killing the engine and quickly getting out of the car. 

"I have one,"she said,entering the store. 

Angel wondered when he had lost control of the situation,and then he wondered if he had ever had it. 

The store was cool,although warmer than outside,and brightly lit with harsh florescent lighting that made everything washed out and ashen,including the bored looking clerk,who barely glanced up from his newspaper to look at him.Angel assumed that meant he was blending in okay. 

Naomi had stopped at the head of the aisle near the back,between the warm beer and pop on the shelves  and the refrigerated cases in the walk in freezers lining the right side wall.Angel joined her,and saw she was looking at two men at the end of the aisle.Dressed mostly in black, they had short,bristly hair cuts indicative of the military,and arms as thick as pythons,with broad chests to match.The ironic thing was,no matter how fit they were,it was no good against either Naomi,himself,or Logan. 

Angel grabbed her arm and pulled her out of view,getting a massive shock as soon as he touched her,and he had to bite down on his tongue to keep from crying out in pain.Shit,she was furious, and that was good for no one's health. 

"Let me try and get them outside first,"he whispered to her,vaguely aware the men were debating over which kind of beer to get."We can limit the amount of witnesses.We don't want a bunch of people seeing us in action." 

She frowned at him,her blue eyes almost incandescent with suppressed rage."They're bound to be armed,Angel.A paralyzer will take you down too.And fuck the witnesses.I can make them sleep for days." 

She was starting to lose her internal compass;she was so angry she was spinning off her moral axis,and sure to do things she would regret later.And again,he knew that from very recent personal experience.But he also knew it might be impossible to talk her down out of it;she was in that dark,deadly space,where she wanted blood for blood,and reason had no place."No.Let me try this,okay?" 

The overhead lights flickered like strobes,their humming turning into a very threatening whine, like a rocket whistling down from the sky.He wondered if these stupid people-whoever the fuck they were-knew what an ugly can of worms they had opened by messing with a mutant as powerful as Naomi."Fine,"she granted,with a natural hesitancy."But one false move,and they're mine." 

Angel had little doubt about that.She might not wait for a false move,in fact. 

The men glanced up curiously at the flickering lights,then looked at him as he walked down the aisle towards them.But they must not have recognized him,as they turned back to the cold case, one of them pulling out a six pack of beer."Fucking power grid,"the blond one commented to his black haired companion. 

Angel grabbed them both hard by the back of the neck."If you don't want to get hurt,you'll come with me,now."He whispered harshly. 

But the black haired one he had grabbed at the wrong angle,and he was able to both turn around and move quickly:he slammed the six pack of beer cans straight into his face. 

Angel's nose snapped in a bright burst of pain as at least one of the cans exploded on impact, and Angel staggered backwards,hitting the door of the freezer case on the right as the blond one,a sneer affixed to his craggy face,pivoted towards him,a black boxy thing that could only be a paralyzer in his right hand. 

But before Angel could make a counter move,the paralyzer exploded,splattering blood all over the freezer case as most of his hand disintegrated with it. 

He dropped to his knees,howling in pain as he grabbed his bloody-but instantly cauterized stump-and his black haired friend,who had dropped the ruined six pack on the floor,reached for his own weapon,but froze,staring up the aisle in wide eyed horror. 

Angel saw why. 

The overhead lights exploded violently as blue tentacles of electricity shot downward like lightning,heading straight for Naomi.But the electricity,hot and blue-white,flowed over her like water,writhing around her harmlessly in snake like tendrils as she stalked down the aisle towards them.Her eyes were completely and utterly blue with electricity,which seemed to crackle and spark around her otherworldly eyes,making her the brightest source of light in the darkened store.Electricity was snaking across the floor too,from every power outlet,feeding her unearthly fire,and Angel felt the glass behind him quivering like it might explode any second. 

"Where is Logan?"She demanded,her voice cold and undeniably homicidal,the living veins of electricity giving her a bright,animate aura. 

The black haired commando dropped his paralyzer,apparently aware it would do no good whatsoever,and Angel smelled the strong reek of urine as the soldier pissed himself in terror.If he wanted to speak,he couldn't just now. 

"I don't have to kill you all at once,"she hissed at him,sparks dripping from her hands like blood from a severed artery."I can fry you one piece at a time.If you want to die like a man instead of a pot roast,you'll tell me what I want to know.Now." 

"Naomi,"Angel began,wiping blood away from his nose with the back of his hand,but she wasn't listening so he didn't bother to follow it up. 

Angel had no doubt,as soon as he could speak,the commando would tell them what she wanted to know,up to and including a three dimensionally rendered map of the Big Empty. 

But he didn't know what she'd do afterwards.And worst of all,he knew there was nothing he could do about it either way. 

    *** 

    Logan came to,tasting blood in his mouth and feeling like he'd been hit by a car,then run over by the ambulance sent to collect him. 

He was in a dark,cold place,and it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the almost complete blackness.He was in a closet sized room,face down on the steel floor between the cot and the toilet that made up the only furniture in the cell. 

He tried to push himself up with his hands,only to find they were pinioned behind his back,held tightly by steel bonds (handcuffs?) around his wrist.He managed to use his shoulders and his knees to rise into a sitting position,and sat with his back against the cot,his head swimming,feeling hazy.He was sure he had been drugged. 

What did he remember? 

They grabbed him outside of the bar,in the parking lot.God,he'd been such an idiot.He'd become complacent in his anonymity,and they got him.He remembered being jabbed with something that put a quick end to the fight,boxy,that left a metallic taste in his mouth and had an electrical sounding crack when used.A paralyzer?He knew they were in development,but he had no idea they had progressed so far. 

He came to on the way in,though;woke up in the trunk.He waited until they opened it to remove him,then tried to fight back,escape.He was sure he broke one man's leg with a side kick before someone else pulled a gun and...shot him.Yes,that's why he felt like a herd of buffalo had stampeded over him:the guy emptied his piece into him,knowing full well he'd eventually heal.That was his mutation,after all,instantaneous healing.That's why they'd been hunting him. 

Bastards.Fucking bastards.They would pay for this.They would pay for everything. 

He heard footsteps in the hall,pausing outside his door,and he let himself collapse face first on the floor,hoping he was in the same position he had been in before,and that there weren't infrared cameras in the room to tell them he was conscious. 

The door slid open,and even through the thin skin of his eyelids he could see the harsh white light that flooded the room as the men-two by the sound,with at least two more loitering farther back-each grabbed him by an arm and hauled him roughly out of the room,and Logan forced himself to stay limp,let his feet drag behind him,play dead. 

"They want him in lab seven,"one of the loitering men instructed the two apes who had him. 

"Right,"the one on his left said,and that's when Logan allowed himself to suddenly come to. 

He judged the one on his left to be the biggest,and as he stood on his own two feet,Logan instantly stomped down on the side of the left ape's knee,instantly snapping the leg. 

As he howled and went down,the man on the right threw an elbow,but Logan had expected it and took it on the chin,his jaw breaking and resetting itself almost instantly in a short but solid burst of pain.As he pretended to stagger back he did a leg sweep,taking the second ape's feet right out from beneath him. 

He hit the floor hard on his ass,and that's when Logan kicked him as hard as he could in the face,so hard blood flew from the man's mouth as teeth clattered on the floor a second before he collapsed back on it. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the loitering men charging him with one of those paralyzers,but he just spun into a high kick,hitting him solidly in the face before he could touch him with that damn thing.The man's jaw snapped audibly,the paralyzer falling from his hands as he collapsed to the metal floor. 

A loud,ululating alarm began screaming through the complex,bouncing off metal walls,as the fourth man-a scrawny,older doctor in a white lab coat-cowered against the wall,cringing from the beating he was sure to take. 

But Logan had no interest in the little man.He wanted to get out of here,now-and this was probably his only chance. 

He ran down the corridor,ready to fight anyone who got in his way,when he saw something out of the corner of his right eye.A dark blur,he instantly spun toward it,ready to snap kick them in the face...but it was a woman,and he instantly hesitated... 

"This is the wrong memory,"Kruger snapped at Omen,the name for the only other telepath at the base. 

The woman stopped reciting what she saw,and opened her odd eyes-one was deep brown,the other sky blue-and gave him a rather contemptuous look as she rubbed her temple,wincing in pain."I planted the thought 'Alkali Lake',and this came up.It isn't easy,you know.It's hard reading the mind of the unconscious,especially one who's had his mind as fucked over as often as his."She gestured to Logan dismissively,sweeping back her long black hair with her hand."I swear I've picked up the flavor of at least four other telepaths in his head,not counting Morpheus." 

"He's had a lot of work done,"Kruger admitted,glaring at the unconscious Logan still strapped down to the blood splattered table. 

"There were also some other...things in his head,weren't there?I mean,not telepaths-or at least not kinds I'm familiar with.I mean,this shit is strange-" 

"You're not paid to think."He interrupted impatiently.She didn't need to know everything Logan had been subjected to over the years;she only needed to recover the information he wanted. "Find what I need-his last day at Alkali Lake,not his first." 

Omen gave him a remarkably dirty look."I'm sorry,but it's almost impossible to read his mind while he's unconscious.It's like sifting through puree with my fingers." 

"And he can't be read conscious,"Sanders said,coming back into the room.He looked even more rumpled than before but a little less pale.Perhaps he had gone and changed his shorts."'Cause the smart ass has learned how to throw telepaths off by focusing his mind on unpleasantries." 

"I can handle unpleasantries,"Omen sniffed,giving him a frown. 

"Vivisection?"Sanders shot back. 

She scowled in thought as soon as she realized he was serious."Well,maybe not." 

"What about drugged?"Kruger said,thinking aloud."We have a couple of new formulas that might work on him." 


	8. Part 8

Omen shook her head,flopping her long black hair in her face again."No-that's as much of a nightmare as all this.Drugged minds are rarely linear,and I'll get as much hallucinations as memories." 

"We have some new formulas that might be more linear,"Kruger offered,but was interrupted by Sanders loudly clearing his throat. 

"We need to talk,"Sanders insisted,doing his best to give him a dirty look.Omen's had been much more impressive;Sanders just looked constipated."In private.Now." 

Kruger gave him an acidic look that should have burned him,but he managed to keep both his ground and constipated look,which made Kruger's frown etch deeper into his face,almost all the way down to bone."Outside,"he said,jerking his head towards the two way mirror. 

Sanders led the way out into the hall and into the adjoining observation room.Once there,the door closed securely closed behind him,Kruger rounded on Sanders angrily."What the hell do you think you're doing,you-" 

"You are insane,"Sanders interrupted angrily,his face flushing as veins throbbed in blue relief at his temples."You were right that Morpheus was someone's pet mutant-and now HQ is fucked off at you for killing him!You are really queering the pitch here,boy-o.Now you explain why you need to rifle through Logan's mind,or I'm just gettin' Lethe now." 

It was Kruger's turn to be taken aback,but only momentarily,and he didn't let it show on his face.The fucking little weasel had gone behind his back to talk to the home office,had he? Fine:Lethe would work on him too."Potter and Nielsen were working on a system that allowed remote detection of mutant DNA-it was supposed to be for hand held scanning units. But with today's technology,if they perfected the remote tagging of mutant DNA strands we can incorporate it into global position system satellites,and pinpoint them in droves from low earth orbit." 

It took a moment,but even stupid old Sanders finally caught the wisdom of that."Holy shit.They were in charge of Project Reveal?"That was its code name. 

Sanders dipped his head,glancing through the two way mirror at Logan and Omen,the latter of whom was pacing and rubbing her forehead as if it ached."Logan was one of ten mutants whose DNA sequence they were working on tagging.I want to know if they were ultimately successful or not,and since Logan is the only known survivor of Project Reveal,their success or failure must be locked inside his brain.Whether he knows it or not.And I think the fact that Alkali Lake met with a premature demise meant they were successful." 

Which meant there'd be a way to wipe out the mutant threat in a far more precise,orderly manner.No more pointless searches,no more injured human bystanders. 

Kruger couldn't help but grin at the wonderfully bitter irony:Logan might hold the key to the extinction of his own kind.And Kruger was going to find it,even if he had to take him apart piece by piece to get it. 

    19 

    They reached the outer perimeter of the Big Empty by nightfall. 

Far outside of Grand Cache,it existed in its own snowy wasteland,all marked 'private property' (with various warnings of perils along with the standard 'trepssers will be prosecuted'-although Angel doubted they'd live long enough to be prosecuted) of the 'Greater Alberta Mining Corporation'-a mining corporation that didn't exist.But 'mutant death camp' sounded so ugly they had to name it something else. 

They had taken the soldier's ATV,and from what Angel found under the front seat,it was obviously keyed in to some sort of automated system,because as he drove up to part of the twenty foot high,electrified chain and razor wire topped cyclone fence enclosing all of the area,another part of it fell away,mysteriously retracting into the snowy ground,revealing a path of rutted tire tracks in the rime frosted earth. 

"We are so dead,"Angel muttered to himself,driving into the Big Empty,the secret gate raising behind them,locking them in. 

"No,they are,"Naomi insisted,putting on the last of her armor."All we have to do is free Logan. He knows these bases,he can bring it down while I find my sister.You just help me keep the bastards off our backs."She held the bulbous black helmet in her hands,oxygen canister hanging down on her chin,both ready to be put on at a moment's notice. 

The soldiers had adamantium/electrical body armor stashed in the back of the ATV,and that became part of the new,slightly more insane plan to infiltrate the base.Angel already had his armor on,helmet included,but he had thrown the oxygen unit out the window,as he didn't need it,and this suit was a tight enough fit as it was. 

At least the man was so terrified Angel was able to talk her into not killing him after he spilled his guts about the location of the base and how to reach it from there.She agreed (grudgingly) to knocking them out and tying them up,and they left the hog tied soldiers in their stolen car, illegally parked in an alley behind a restaurant.They had probably been found by the authorities,but not the right ones (from their perspective). 

But Angel knew this gambit would only take them so far."This is going to turn out like that thing in "Star Wars","he grumbled,following the turns in the makeshift road.It wound between dark stands of towering pines,the snow so bright in the light of the rising moon it looked almost blue. 

"What?" 

"You know,when Luke and Han dressed up as Stormtroopers to infiltrate the prison level?Their cover was blown because they didn't know the right codes.And I doubt we'll have the luck to live to a sequel." 

She was quiet for a moment,shooting an odd look into the rearview mirror."You are a strange man,Angel." 

He grimaced,even though she couldn't see it."I've been in L.A. too long." 

The Big Empty base was situated close to the end of the two and a half mile long piece of snow blasted,scrub pine laced wilderness,and the silence of it all was almost startling.This was the middle of nowhere in a pseudo-Arctic landscape,and it wasn't hard to believe that no one ever heard or saw anything suspicious going on here.The nearest house was what,seven miles away? And that looked like a winter cabin,not the type populated year round. 

The road wound down to what looked like an airplane hangar in camouflage tan taking up most of the central area.And while it looked unfenced and open,a quick glance through the infrared visor on the helmet confirmed a cat's cradle of crimson beams surrounding the grounds. Now how did they disable those? 

"See what we have to get through?"He asked her as she put her helmet on,and he parked next to a similar ATV,and an Army truck that looked damn familiar. 

She flipped down her visor and had a look."We get through or we don't-doesn't effect the basic plan." 

He wished he had her confidence-but what was he worried about?He wasn't a mutant;there was nothing they could do to him.It was Naomi who had to worry.And Logan,if he was even capable of worrying right now.Angel had the sinking feeling worrying had been lost to him in a world of pain. 

But Angel knew he was probably the only hope Logan,Naomi,and Maddy had of getting out of this torture chamber alive and intact.And he had no back up whatsoever.If he fucked this up, they were all doomed. 

It occurred to him he really didn't like working under pressure as he got out of the car,and started trudging through the snow in his heavy armor towards the base,Naomi following right behind him. 

    *** 

    Logan came to in the snow,his face so numb he could barely feel it at all,and his head felt...odd.Pumped full of helium,or hydrogen,or ether-some light gas that made him feel disconnected from himself and the world. 

He pushed himself up to a sitting position,snow melting beneath his hands,and wished he was surprised to find someone crouching beside him,but he wasn't-nothing seemed right,so everything was possible. 

He couldn't see the face at all-he couldn't quite see anything:it was a blur of red and black leather,and a female scent beneath the stench of burning flesh and slagged metal."You always got yourself into impossible situations,"she said,and he realized it was the woman he sometimes heard in his head.He didn't know why he couldn't see her,but he supposed he didn't know what  he was supposed to see,and that did it somehow.Perception was all,and he had none. 

"Karma,"he deadpanned,attempting to move his head,and instantly making himself so dizzy he thought he was falling back into the snow. 

"You may actually have a point there,but you don't know it,"the woman said,grabbing his arm with a hand so bony it was almost skeletal."You know what they want,don't you?" 

"They?"The word left a bitter taste in his mouth."No." 

"You never have.Well,once,but it was no help at all." 

"I'm not getting you,"he admitted,as she pulled him up to his unsteady feet. 

Suddenly the snowy wasteland was replaced by a metal corridor,the ceiling low overhead and making him feel entombed. 

"No one does,hon,"she replied,pulling him down the corridor towards a silver metal door.He wanted to resist,but he felt ephemeral,lighter than air,and helpless to do anything but follow. "They want to know what you know about Potter and Nielsen." 

"Who?" 

"That's what I thought,"she sighed,pulling him into the room. 

He was able to stop,mainly because he felt like he had just walked straight into a Mac truck.  
He knew this place.It was in his nightmares. 

A laboratory,set up with so many unknown and sinister looking machines it could have been someone's experimental garage,the largest of which was what looked like an oversized aquarium on some sort of platform,with a metal rack suspended on the ceiling above it.He noted,with a certain dispassion,that the tank had green lights surrounding it. 

He walked up to it,feeling like a zombie,and for no reason he could explain he put his hand inside the tank,feeling its slick,cool glass sides,and noticing once more the green lights on the outside.It was smaller than he remembered,but also paradoxically bigger:at times,it was a confining tomb,and at others times it was a million miles deep and wide. 

"I died here,"he said,and he didn't know why. 

"Melodrama aside,Logan,you can't let them get any further,"the woman said,coming to stand beside him. 

"Who are you?" 

"You never knew,so I can't say.But let's just say I was the second person to kill you.And I locked a lot of secrets in your head-things they never knew-and I don't want them getting out.So you have to put a stop to them.Is that understood?" 

He could almost see the tank in green;he could almost feel metal tearing his flesh,the urge to scream ripping through his mind like a buzzsaw.He lashed out with his arm,unsheathing his claws at the last second,aiming for her chest. 

He slashed through empty air,and saw the vague idea of a woman standing across the tank from him."That's why I always liked you,Logan."He could hear the gloating smile in her voice."You know how to cut to the chase." 

"I am not your fucking vault,"he growled,anger making him feel more grounded and corporeal. "And I am not their fucking guinea pig." 

"Tell them that,not me.You might also want to add Reveal was a no show.It didn't have a prayer of working,not with the technology they had then.Now might be a different story,but not then." 

His head,once light as a cloud,started to hurt,and he felt unbalanced somehow,only partly disconnected,like an incomplete amputation.He sank to the floor before he collapsed,sitting with his back against the tank's platform,and felt nothing when she was there in a blink, crouching beside him."What?What the fuck are you talking about?" 

"Ancient history,Logan.Sort of like you.But this might come back to haunt you." 

"Everything haunts me,"he replied,and he had no idea why he said that. 

He thought he felt her hand in his hair,but he didn't know for sure.Everything felt wrong,his body hurt,and he was so very tired."Hang in there,Logan-we can beat these clowns.Not all mutants are good,but not all of them are bad for the same reason." 

"I'm not getting you again." 

"You never will."He thought he felt dry lips brush his pounding forehead,and then he felt himself falling away into darkness,but at least it was warm there,and the pain ebbed away like an outgoing tide. 

    *** 

    Kruger mulled over whether to have Omen killed,and was so deep in thought he hadn't realized he was putting too much pressure on his pen until it snapped in his hand. 

She was slightly more useless than Morpheus,but infuriating in the excuses she made for it. 

It was bad enough that she blamed the drugs that should have helped retrieve some of Logan's memories,saying they were still giving him hallucinations,and then impounded the problem by suggesting there was 'something else' operating in Logan's head."Has he been  counter-programmed?"She asked,giving him an accusing look. 

Wolverine was not truly a second personality-it was simply Logan stripped of any sense of morality,memory,and urge to find said memories.A personality so estranged from others he became a race of one,and didn't give a shit about any of the others.But it had been programming to a degree,and Omen had been instructed of that:still she insisted that was not what she was hitting.She insisted she was 'meeting resistance',a kind Logan was simply not capable of,and in that moment Kruger knew why she was a failure as a telepath. 

She was probably protecting a fellow mutant;at the end of the day,you couldn't trust a mutie,no matter who was paying their bills. 

Kruger rose from his desk and went to the sink in his office to wash off the ink on his hands,as red as blood but with a much more pleasant scent,and while holding his hands beneath the stream of nearly scalding hot water,Sanders came in,waving a fax like a battle flag."Ah fuckin' hell,Krug,we got us a shitload of problems." 

"More?"It was starting to become routine."And don't call me Krug." 

"I thought I'd do a little background check on Enigma,you know,just to make sure she didn't whammy a back door into his head-" 

"Whammy?"Kruger interrupted impatiently.The man needed to go back to school and learn how to speak English. 

Sanders ignored him."They ran a routine double check on her file,and guess what?Her DNA isn't hers." 

"What do you mean her DNA isn't hers?" 

"Enigma's DNA is a perfect match for an upper level clerical worker for the Org,who happens to look nothin' like her at all,so the evil twin theory is out." 

Kruger turned off the taps and pulled a paper towel from  the dispenser on the wall,twisting to face Sanders as he dried his hands."You are getting to the point?I trust there is a point." 

"They've been searching for records of her pre-Enigma identity,and can't find any.They think all the info that checked out the first time were plants-and that maybe she was a mutant." 

For a moment,Kruger was stymied as to why he should actually care,until he remembered that Enigma was responsible for finally breaking down Logan and bringing the Wolverine personality to the fore. 

Was that why she was successful?And why Shrike's gambit ultimately failed? 

And why Omen was unsuccessful now? 

("Has he been counter-programmed?") 

Oh shit."Could she have been a telepath?" 

Sanders shrugged helplessly."They're fucked if they know.They have no idea who she really was, but it sorta does explain why she decided to turn against the Org." 

Kruger couldn't care less who she was,where her ultimate loyalties laid-all he cared about was if the cold,dead bitch was preventing him from accessing Logan's mind somehow.Could she have implanted something deep in his subconscious,some sort of....what,escape hatch?But why would she do that? 

Unless Logan was some cog in a master plan that never came to fruition,because she blew herself up first... 

While he was pondering the possibilities,a siren screamed to life,and red emergency lights began flashing. 

"An intruder alert?"Sanders asked,looking astounded. 

"I guess Electra finally showed up to play,"Kruger guessed,secretly glad she had finally shown her face.He would have hated to have been wrong. 

But now it was time to take down the missing piece of the big mutant puzzle. 

    *** 

    Naomi couldn't use her powers while encased in the suit,but as it turned out she didn't need to.Maybe there was some sort of smart chip encoding in the armor,because crossing the fine net of crimson laser beams didn't set off any alarms.At least that they heard. 

They entered the base through a glorified airlock,and any fears that it scanned DNA were put to rest when the inner door cycled open,revealing a metal walled entryway and a guard at the front desk.A young,solidly built man,he gave them a funny look as they came in."Why are you still in the armor?"He asked suspiciously,his small blue eyes rapidly scanning the both of them. 

"We heard Wolverine was back,"Angel said.It was the only thing he could think of. 

The guard snorted humorously."Don't worry;that freak's locked down tight.He ain't goin' anywhere." 

The full face helmet limited peripheral vision so he couldn't see Naomi,but Angel was sure she had tensed up."We have orders to transport a Madalyn Deschanel.Where can we find her?"He went on,knowing this was where their cover just might fall apart. 

"Madalyn Deschanel?"The guard said,clearly unfamiliar with the name,and he turned to his small flatscreen computer."Where is she supposed to go?" 

Ah hell."Fire Lake,"Angel said,making up the best name he could. 

"Fire Lake?"He repeated,even more dubious than before."Is that new?" 

"Uh huh." 

"Deschanel..."he muttered,scanning his screen,and that's when Angel saw it-a momentary hesitation,a slight widening of the eyes quickly stopped."Maybe it's on the next page.Is she a doctor?"He asked,lying very smoothly as his left hand moved slowly beneath the desk. 

Angel didn't know if he was going for a weapon or an alarm button,but he didn't wait to find out-he lashed out a hand and slammed his palm flat against the young man's forehead.His eyes rolled up inside his head,and as he collapsed to the floor,Naomi vaulted one handed over the desk and looked at his computer."Where is she?"She muttered to herself,her voice muffled inside the helmet."Oh,here she is:L7C?What does that mean?" 

"Where's Logan?"He asked,trying to look down both ends of the hall at once.They were too exposed here,and he knew anyone approaching probably wouldn't ask many questions. 

"Lab seventeen,or cell four-b.Both are listed.But why isn't Maddy's location listed?Or is L7C some location shorthand?" 

Before Angel could tell her he had no idea,a siren's scream ripped through the complex,and red lights began pulsing in strips set three feet apart on the side walls. 

Oh,yes-he'd forgotten about surveillance cameras. 

"Come on,let's move it,"he said needlessly,and as they decided to take the right branch of the hallway,which seemed to go deeper inside the base.The power died,plunging all into darkness,the sudden silence as deafening as any klaxon. 

"I guess you were expected after all,"Angel noted,putting down his infrared visor. 

"Fuck them,"she snarled,running ahead of him down the corridor.Angel hastily scrambled to keep up. 

Much to his surprise,she ripped off the heavy gauntlets of the armor,and as a squad of armed commandos came around the opposite corner,bolts of blue electricity erupted from her hands and hit them like a wave of pure lightning that pretty much shorted out his infrared visor. 

There were aborted shouts turned grunts of pain,and they were thrown back like matchsticks in a hurricane,their bodies thudding heavily to the floor as she moved on,not even pausing. 

"Halt!"A voice shouted behind Angel,which was dead silly considering their body armor.Naomi still didn't pause,and Angel only turned into a spinning kick that took him in the head,sending the over eager soldier crashing into the wall before he rebounded off and sprawled on the floor. 

Even without the visor,Angel could see pretty well in the dark-he was a vampire,after all-and farther down the hall,he could see another unit on its way-an armed squad in the same electricity absorbing/adamantium proof black armor they were wearing.Of course:they'd been prepared for Naomi. 

And this felt like real trouble. 

"Naomi,"he shouted,sprinting to catch up with her down the twisting metal corridors. 

He didn't have to go far.The only hall there was to go down suddenly turned into a dead end,a steel wall having grown abruptly in the center of the corridor,and he arrived in time to see Naomi angrily hit it with her bare fist. 

"Lab seventeen is this way,"she said,the frustration evident in her voice."Logan!Logan,can you hear me?!"She shouted,kicking the wall.But it was maybe a foot thick,and possibly adamantium;Angel really couldn't tell. 

And there was no reply at all. 

"Stand back,"she told him."Maybe I can blast a way through." 

Angel heard the others and turned around as the armored commandos opened fire. 

They were firing projectiles,but as they pinged off his armor,he realized they weren't bullets but little darts. 

Too late he moved to protect Naomi,but he heard her hiss under her breath,and turned in time to see her pull one out of the back of her bare hand."Shit,"she snarled,looking back at the soldiers.Since they were in armor,she couldn't electrocute them.So she turned back to the wall,and said,"Stand back." 

Angel decided to do better than that-he attacked the men.They were all in armor,so they were-theoretically-evenly matched,but Angel wasn't as slowed down by the heavy gear,and,in his own opinion,was a much better fighter.Also,to be fair,armor or not,he was stronger than a human. 

He didn't care about style or form;he simply hit or kicked any helmeted face that came into his line of sight.One of them grabbed him from behind,but he simply slung him over his shoulder, using him to knock down two of his fellow soldiers,and Angel glanced back at Naomi in time to see her hit the floor. 

It looked like she had scorched part of the wall,but had come nowhere near blasting through it. 

And now he was going to have to make a tactical retreat somehow.But if they did manage to get out of here-an extremely dubious prospect at best-there'd never be any getting back in,and they could write off both Logan and Maddy. 

Angel elbowed one man in the face and threw another into the wall before he heard a man say,quite loudly,"Do you really want to be held responsible for the death of her sister,Angel?" 

He turned towards the sound of the man's voice,and saw him standing at the far end of the hall,holding a gun to the head of the woman he was holding before him like a human shield.She was tall and slender,her shoulder length hair as black as coal,but something about her ice blue eyes,now wild with fear,was familiar.They looked like Naomi's. 

Yes,they had prepared for their arrival. 

The man,bland faced and somewhat gaunt,like a specter given form in a black commando outfit,said in a strangely casual manner,"Take off your helmet and toss it aside.Then get down on your knees with your hands on your head,or I'll paint the walls with her brains.Do you think I'm bluffing?Or do you think she's immune to bullets?Should I prove it?" 

"No,"Angel replied,feeling the anger fueled adrenaline surge through his veins.Life was so fucking cheap to these bastards.And although he never told Naomi,he sort of wondered if their taking of her sister was a contingency plan,a guarantee they'd get Naomi one way or another.In that case,they had won.For now. 

He took off his helmet and tossed it aside hard enough to leave a dent in the wall and startle the few commandos still on their feet,then knelt down and put his hands behind his head,lacing his fingers together. 

Two soldiers went at him then-one with an injection gun,the other with a paralyzer,both in the neck-so Angel was never sure which one got to him first before he lost consciousness. 

    20 

    Naomi came to,feeling so groggy she knew the room was spinning before she even opened her eyes. 

She heard soft bleeps,the noises of machines at work,and she tried to peer through half lidded eyes to get an idea of where she was-and if she was alone. 

The room was dimly lit,casting blue shadows across the floor and walls,with the only lights coming from a bank of processors (?) on the left hand side,and a computer screen near the center of the room.If this was some sort of cell,it was unlike any she'd ever even seen. 

A shadow moved,and she heard the thud of footsteps on the floor."Electra,are you awake?" 

She knew she'd been caught and frowned,opening her eyes all the way."That's not my name,"she said,and attempted to sit up,but had to stop and instantly lay still as the room seemed to pitch and yaw like a ship on a stormy sea."What the hell did you give me?"She tried to call up her powers-could she fuck these machines over-but it was like her body didn't even know how to do it anymore. 

"It's an experimental drug,designed expressly to suppress your electrical powers,"the woman said.She had a smooth voice,so calm it was nearly gloating."So I'm afraid you're as unelectrical as a mundane now." 

"Mundane?" 

"Normal.Whatever you want to call the lesser humans." 

"I see."The contempt in the woman's voice had been extraordinary,which would be strange for a soldier.Looking only with her eyes,not daring to move her head,she did her best to glance at the woman as she crossed to the center of the room and moved the chair in front of the computer so she could sit in it facing her.She was tall and slender,with black hair like a veil she swung behind her as she sat down.She was wearing black pants and a bright blue sweater that seemed to confirm she was not a soldier,but,strangely,she was also wearing suede gloves.A doctor?No sidearm or weapons were visible on her,and her face was in shadow."Who are you?" 

"What?Dear sister,don't you know?It's me,Maddy." 

"Is it really?"She replied dubiously,very carefully levering herself up into a sitting position. "What are we doing here together?And where are we?" 

"I asked to be with you when you woke up.I haven't seen you for...well,ages." 

Naomi couldn't help but notice she never answered the 'where are we' question."Where's Angel?" 

The supposed Maddy sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth,and she could imagine her grimacing."Something went wrong when they subdued Angel-that was what you called him,yes?Why?He didn't even have rudimentary wings-" 

"What went wrong?"She felt her stomach lurch in fear,wondering if the plan had just gotten blown to hell at the same time she got him killed. 

"They're not really sure.They're thinking drug overdose,even though he didn't even get half the dose they gave Logan.All I know is he was dead,and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. We'll have to wait for the autopsy for answers,I suppose." 

Naomi digested that,feeling sick,until she remembered Angel was-if you believed him-technically dead when they entered the building.But they didn't know that.And supposedly he couldn't be killed by drugs,or anything other than wood or sunlight:so he was still 'alive',and the plan was on. 

"Where's Logan?"She asked,hoping Angel was,in actuality,fine. 

"Detoxing.The memory drugs they used didn't work,and it seems he may have been tainted in the past by an agent who was a rogue mutant,so they don't think he has any info that they can actually use." 

"So what happens now?" 

"We tear him back down to his basic programming.They figure whatever Enigma did,it didn't taint that." 

Naomi had no idea who Enigma was,and she didn't care,as long as he/she/it hadn't hurt Logan. But it sounded like they were going to."We have to stop them." 

"Why?"She asked,sounding genuinely curious."He's of more use to us this way." 

"Fuck you,"she snapped,angry but still unable to move much."He's a human being,not your tool to use." 

"He's better than human.He's one of us,dear sister." 

"You're not my sister." 

She sat back in the chair,making it squeak,and a sliver of the monitor's light illuminated her face."I am-Madalyn Amalie Deschanel,born April seventeenth a couple of years before you,to Paula and Pierre Deschanel of Montreal,Quebec.But nothing I say will convince you,will it?" 

"No." 

"Frankly,I'm surprised you found me.I thought I erased all traces of my existence after I left home to join the Organization." 

She didn't believe her-she couldn't believe her-but she felt cold to the pit of her stomach."You erased..?Why?" 

"Because that's what I do,sweetie.You're Electra,because you feed off electricity,"she said,sitting forward,resting her hands on her knees."And I know Logan better than you think you do.Because I'm Lethe,and I feed off memories." 

    ***  
Alkali Lake 

    Maddy was touring the complex when she heard the alert sound roar to life,making her jump."What's that?"She asked,as lights flashed and sirens screamed loud enough to wake the dead. 

The Commander leading her around consulted his headset,wrapped around his head like a wireless microphone,staring off into the distance as he listened to someone speaking through his earpiece."Logan's just made a break for it." 

"Logan?Isn't that the guy I'm supposed to do?"She had hardly been with the Organization two days,yet they seemed to have lots of work for her.Doctor Marsh seemed to think she was going to go far in a short amount of time.But of course,that was the plan. 

The Commander,a grey eyed man with a bristle brush type of hairdo,nodded."He's the heart of a new project,as well as a danger.He can't be allowed to escape." 

"Oh,I'm sure,"she agreed,grabbing his paralyzer out of his belt holster and running down the corridor. 

"Hey!"He shouted,but she ignored him as she pelted towards the main,high security prisoner's area.Her footsteps sounded too loud as they echoed through the metal corridors,but by that same token,she could hear someone on an intercept course.Logan? 

She hid behind the corner of a connecting corridor,and just as she looked out,Logan seemed to notice her out of the corner of his eye.He spun towards her,and she knew,even with his hands still cuffed behind his back,he was going to strike her somehow. 

But he hesitated.His angry green eyes widened when he realized he was looking at a fifteen year old girl,and Maddy almost laughed.Some soldier he was.The enemy could come in any shape and form.He'd have to learn that the hard way. 

She flicked on the paralyzer and jabbed him right in the chest. 

It let out an electrical snap,a flash of blue,and Logan's eyes grew even wider as he collapsed to the floor on his back,as helpless as a turtle on its shell. 

He was still conscious,though-the fear in his eyes,the bewilderment,was so vivid it was almost palpable. 


	9. Part 9

She tossed the paralyzer aside,and peeled off her black leather gloves."Hello,Logan-I'm Maddy," she said,throwing her stripped off gloves on the floor,and dropping down on top of him, straddling his hips.It was sort of a shame.He was kind of cute,for an old,strange guy."And I'm the last person you'll never remember seeing." 

She almost felt sorry for him as she put her hands on his temples,and started draining him of every memory he ever had. 

    Naomi felt like she had been hit with a truck. 

"What are you saying?"She asked,even though her mind had jumped ahead to the worst possibility. 

"And I don't 'share' memories,like a telepath,"Maddy went on,seemingly taking a perverse glee in all of this."I take them:I burn through memories like you burn through circuit breakers." 

"Did you take Logan's memories?"She desperately hoped fate had not been that cruel to either of them,but she feared,knowing her track record,it had. 

She could see a smile curve up Maddy's thin,blood red lips."Certainly.Although I was sort of overwhelmed.I knew he was old,but I had no idea how old until I drained him.Christ on a cracker,it was like trying to speed read the Oxford English Dictionary in a minute and a half." 

Naomi closed her eyes and clenched her fists.If she had her powers,she'd have fried the little witch on the spot."How could you do that to him,you-" 

"I seriously hope you're not going to portray him as an innocent here,"Maddy interrupted."Do you think he learned to fight like that while brainwashed?No way.He was a trained operative before they decided to make him the centerpiece of the 'Weapon X' project;then he compounded his idiocy by thinking he could leave.He brought this on himself." 

She glared at her in disbelief."No one deserves to be flayed alive." 

Maddy grimaced,almost showing a human emotion."Well,that did seem a bit harsh.But,to be fair,he's a hard man to anesthetize." 

"I can't believe you're defending them.I can't believe you'd willingly work for a group that wants to wipe out mutants." 

Maddy leaned towards her,making the chair squeak like the rusty hinge on a cemetery gate."Just between you and me,sis,that's exactly what we want them to think."She then winked,as if she had imparted some big secret. 

Maybe she had. 

    21 

    Logan knew this wasn't reality-he felt like he was floating,his skin hot and crawling as if about to leave his bones-and yet here he was,sitting on the wooden steps a sort of run down looking cabin,smoking a cigar and gazing out at the woods a mere ten feet from his rudimentary gravel driveway,and so dense he could see nothing but trees,their thick brown trunks going on towards infinity.But he was not alone. 

About seven feet off to his right,sitting on the beaten dirt path,was a ratty looking cat.Black and orange calico with bits of white on the leg and vivid greenish-gold eyes,it had a couple of burrs on its tail and knots in its fur,as well as a scar bisecting its pink nose-a housecat turned feral,probably dumped in the woods to die a long time ago.But it proved itself to be tougher than its former owners thought.It was sitting on the path in such a way that it could keep an eye on him and an eye on the woods,ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. 

"Do I know you,cat?"He asked,then realized,vaguely,that he did.This was Cat,which started hanging around his place shortly after he moved in.It never got too close,but seemed to loiter at the periphery,a pair of lambent,glowing eyes that haunted the fringes of his home.Sometimes he threw it scraps to keep it out of his garbage can,and it seemed to think that was some sign.If not of friendship,then at least of grudging acceptance. 

"Home,"he repeated,the word tasting funny as he looked over his shoulder at the rustic wooden cabin.It did look kind of familiar...was this home?Had he ever had a home? 

"Hey Cat,where is this?"He asked,tossing his cigar butt down on the gravel drive and sliding to the edge of the stair so he could stub it out with his foot. 

Of course the cat didn't answer. 

How much of this was hallucination or wish fulfillment?Did he ever have a home? 

"You could answer,you know.You're a figment of my imagination,"he told it,but it couldn't care less,just like a real cat."Once upon a time,Logan the Freak almost had a life..." 

He reached up and scratched his face,and he realized something was wrong.He had a bit of stubble,but nothing else;no beard. 

He rubbed his face,marveling at the feeling of his skin,and the Cat gave him a strange look,as if he'd gone nuts.He scowled at it."Hey-you're my hallucination.Don't look at me like that." 

It put its ears down and flicked its tail,annoyed. 

His stomach spasmed like a pulled muscle.Had he ever been close to normal?He felt an ache of nostalgia for something he was not sure he had ever had. 

He blinked,and suddenly he was in the back of the truck with Naomi,the wind howling and occasionally rocking the vehicle as the snow piled up outside."I thought I heard you,"he said, nuzzling her neck.He thought he had her calling his name,shouting for him;but it was distant,faint."Are you dead or alive?" 

"I don't know,"she murmured sleepily."What do you think?" 

"I think I want you to be alive,but it's not an answer."He could feel his arm growing numb, falling asleep,but he didn't care.It wouldn't hurt him for long. 

Then he felt a tenuous connection,something almost like a memory."My house isn't that far from here.Or it wasn't.Lower elevation...maybe twenty miles from here....or maybe not.It was near a mountain..." 

"Who are you,Logan?"She asked. 

For some reason,that hit him like a slap to the face."Someone who never knew when to leave,"he finally said.It was meant as a joke,but it didn't feel like one. 

And he was glad when the hallucination faded away,leaving him in silent darkness. 

    *** 

    "What's that supposed to mean?"Naomi asked,although it felt like someone else was saying it.She felt so detached from herself,it was possible. 

Maddy raised her dark eyebrows and gave her a look that suggested she was far too stupid to be taken seriously."Do you really think any mutant with half a brain would be suckered in by the Organization's bullshit?No way,hon;the fact that they believe it proves they're lessers,chimps." 

"So what's really going on?" 

She paused,as if unsure whether she should reveal it or not,but then decided it was worth the risk-or the bragging rights,whichever."The Organization is testing on and altering mutants, seemingly to achieve various ends,and build towards the destruction of the entire mutant species.But what they're really doing is the opposite:they are making mutants stronger and stronger,thereby insuring the extinction of the human race.See how fucking dumb they are?" 

Naomi wasn't sure if her mind was reeling from the drugs or the revelations."So you're saying,unbeknownst to them,mutants inside the Organization are subverting their goals? Changing their genocide project into some sort of freaky eugenics thing?" 

The smile Maddy gave her was sordid somehow-a butcher openly enjoying a really bloody kill. "See?Cleverness runs in the family after all.I'm sure Enigma was in on it,but she kept her own council.No code name was more apt than Enigma,believe me.Even I didn't get her.I didn't even know she was a mutant.She was that good." 

"But you're sacrificing other mutants for the cause.You sacrificed Logan for your stupid cause." 

She snorted derisively."Oh come on!Logan was good at not getting killed,and he was a decent fighter,but let's face facts-he didn't have a lot to offer the mutant cause,did he?'Indestructable Boy':whoopty fucking do,sis.We knew if their experiment worked,he'd be a terrific secret weapon. And he is.Look at him now:in mutant circles-especially in the Organization-his name is spoken with awe.Well,his code name.He is a great mutant now,just the type of soldier we need." 

Naomi was so enraged she could feel her heart pounding in her temples."Did anyone ever ask him?"She could barely spit out the words. 

"Why ever would we do that?He was never the brightest man on the planet.He was ashamed of what he was,like being a mutant was a bad thing,and wanted to be 'left alone'.Boo hoo.He should thank us,you know.We made him what he is." 

Yes,Naomi thought in stark agreement.Haunted,without memories,and stricken with night terrors.Oh,but he was a much better mutant now.... 

"Come on,Naomi,"Maddy said jovially,as if they'd had a little spat over an inconsequential thing."Lighten up.Join me here,and you could be the crown jewel we need to fuck them over once and for all.And if he means that much to you,you'll get Logan back when he's served his purpose." 

"What purpose is that?" 

The shit eating grin Maddy gave her was infuriating."Now now,can't give the whole game away. But I think Wolverine's gonna have himself a hell of a time doin' it.He lives for this kind of stuff." 

Wolverine,not Logan.The choice of names was deliberate."Then why don't you ask him to participate in this...whatever?" 

"You don't know him very well,do you?Logan doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself.He'd never help anyone else.It's not in his nature." 

It was Naomi turn to scoff."What a crock of shit." 

Maddy's posture stiffened,and her voice grew a tad colder."Is it really?I know him inside and out,and-" 

"You still don't know shit,"she interrupted angrily."I'll tell you why you're not asking Logan to participate in this.You're right that he'll tell you to go fuck yourself,but not because he's a selfish prick.He'll tell you that because he cares about people individually,not ideologies,and he couldn't give a fuck about your little 'mutant first' agenda.And if he found out you were letting certain mutants get tortured and die in the name of 'strengthening the race',he'd slice you open like a fucking trout." 

Maddy scowled at her,etching lines into her otherwise youthful face."You think you know him,do you?" 

"I do know him.And he's a lot of things-he's not perfect by any means-but he is,at heart,a noble man.You'd have to brainwash him into a psychopath to get him to go along with any piece of this shit.And what makes you think I'm such an amoral fuck that I'd go along with this too?" 

"Because you don't have much of a choice."All of the false chumminess was out of her voice now, and she was all business."You see,I'm supposed to drain you.As a blank slate,you'll be easy to program.Because you'd be so important to the cause,I wanted to give you the opportunity to simply play along.Because you will be helping us either way-I can't let you help the other side." 

After that cold blooded pronouncement,she turned to her computer,and said,"Here,I want to show you something.You think you know Logan,do you?Do you know this man?" 

She shoved her chair back from the computer,so Naomi could get a clear view of the screen.She didn't know what she'd see,but she had to slide to the edge of the cot she was on to see it properly. 

It looked like a scanned photo,so old it was sepia hued.It looked like a group of men in old clothes,but not suits;rough clothes,working man's clothes.Maddy moved the mouse and hit a couple of keys,and part of the right hand corner of the photograph jumped out,filling the screen.  
It showed a young man in the back caught in profile as he turned away from the camera. 

It was the nose that she recognized first,oddly enough.After that it was the line of the clean shaven jaw,which she remembered from when he let her shave his face in the shower...Logan.It was Logan;younger,of course,maybe sixteen or seventeen...no,wait,how could she say that?He looked sixteen or seventeen;his actual age was unknown. 

"This photo was taken at a mining camp in British Columbia,"Maddy said."In 1851." 

    *** 

    Sanders sat in the observation room overlooking the operation bay,waiting in his favorite seat as the corpse of Angel was wheeled in. 

He bit into his apple as Doctor Bishop had the attendants load the body bag onto the table. They unzipped it like an oversized garment bag and pulled it off the body with an ease born of practice.This Angel was a big boy,wasn't he?In several respects,actually;he almost felt inadequate. 

He was terribly pale,his skin almost glowed under the harsh lights of the operating room,but he didn't look like he had discolored at all;in fact,the small burn on his throat left by the paralyzer didn't appear to be visible.It had to be the angle he was sitting at. 

Bishop was running his latex gloved hands carefully over Angel's broad chest,bending over it for a closer look,but at what Sanders couldn't tell from this distance. 

He hit the intercom button on the arm of his chair."Is there a prob,Mike?" 

Bishop jumped,as if unaware he'd been watched,and the balding,bespeckled man glanced up towards the observation room.The lights reflected off his safety goggles in such a way Sanders couldn't see his eyes,but his demeanor was nervous,as if he was a boy caught with his hands in the cookie jar."No.It's just that,uh,his skin is flawless.No bruises,no scars,no blemishes...wasn't he fighting before he was killed?" 

"Yeah,but he was wearing armor,so it probably absorbed the blows.Although there weren't that many blows to absorb."Sanders had seen the security tape:pathetic.Angel and Electra tore through 'em like nothing,although Angel did the bulk of the hands on fighting;a strong mother. Also,decent form:either he was a martial artist or he'd seen too many Bruce Lee movies. 

"And I don't know if you've seen him,but Wolverine has pretty flawless skin too.It's a mutant thing."And he shuddered remembering how his skin closed up after Krug went psycho and shot him;watching those gaping wounds just heal over like that was disgusting in a way he could not name.It was like he was watching a crime against nature in progress. 

Bishop nodded,the light reflecting off his bald pate as he looked back down at the prone,ghostly bright body of Angel,and then reached for a scalpel on the silver tray beside him. 

Seeing him aglow on the table like that,Sanders could almost understand why he was called Angel. 

    *** 

    "Photos can be doctored,"Naomi said,although she didn't know if she believed that was the case here.He could be that old? Had he ever looked that young? 

"True,but why would we bother?This photo was actually found by accident,in the archives of some historical society in British Columbia.There were some journals too,of a preacher who'd hit the mining camps since they were a hotbed of 'sin',and he mentioned this 'strange,quiet boy'  named Logan.He seemed to stay apart from the other miners,getting close to no one,and he never shared much personal info:he was from Alberta,and an orphan,but that's all he'd say.Everyone assumed Logan was his last name.If he had a first,he never supplied it. 

"He seemed frail looking to some,which was why everyone was stunned at the amount of work he could actually do.The miners nicknamed him 'Mule' because he was so deceptively strong,and didn't seem to wear down like the other guys.He never complained,but never joined the others in their drinking and whoring binges after payday.The other miners were torn between believing he was some kind of snob to just being a scared rabbit-after all,a lot of the men in mining camps like those were wanted fugitives,often from the States,hiding out under assumed names,making enough cash to get to Alaska or god knows where.No one could imagine Mule as a criminal mastermind,but hey,do you ever know?" 

Maddy tapped the screen."Less than a month after this photo was taken,there was a cave in: fifteen miners were trapped a quarter of a mile underground,under nearly a half ton of rock. They knew it was probably hopeless,but they started digging,and just as they were about to give up,somebody heard someone shout,and the voice was believed to belong to Mule.They dug through the night,occasionally shouting to him to make sure he was still alive,and when they finally reached him and pulled him out,stunned was not the word for it-he was fine.A little sooty and bloody,but once he was cleaned up no one could find where the blood had come from,and there was speculation it wasn't his.No broken bones,no injuries of any kind.It was considered a miracle,especially since all the other miners died almost instantaneously.The preacher was sure Mule had been saved by God since he was not a 'sinner' like the others in the camp,but Mule abhorred that kind of talk,and all the attention it garnered him.He was seen as a 'good luck chrm' by the other miners...until winter hit. 

"A flu epidemic hit the camp.Not the deadly Spanish flu,just a bad one that had several people carried out to a local hospital,and everyone caught it,even the preacher:no one was immune. Except Mule.This was when everyone-save for the preacher,who was still convinced Mule was blessed-started getting suspicious.He never got hurt-even during a devastating cave in that should have suffocated him if not crushed him-he never got sick,he never even suffered a pulled muscle when doing twice the work of a normal man.He seemed inhuman somehow,and since one person's god is another person's devil,some at the camp began to believe he was demonic,or had made a pact with Satan or something.Superstitious people are a mutant's worst enemy,are they not?After helping themselves to some alcohol fueled courage,some of the miners decided to storm the shack Mule called home and see if a pick axe couldn't hurt him.But they found the place cleared out.Mule had detected the shift in attitudes and beat it,leaving not a single scrap of evidence behind that he had ever been there.Many took this as proof of his evilness,but the preacher-who,honestly,if you read between the line,wanted to bugger Mule quite badly-felt that he had been sent to prove his-the preacher's-faith was just,or some such shit.But,let's face it:even if he had not used the name Logan,even if we hadn't found this photo,we'd have known it was Logan.It all tracks,right down to his avoidance of people. 

"It's one of the few documents we have of Logan's history.He was very good at avoiding cameras and not leaving much in the way of a paper trail.He traveled a lot and created new identities for himself left and right,trying to keep people from noticing he didn't age like them,he never got sick,and if he got hurt,it was never for long.He was a scared little bunny,but not because he committed a crime.He was scared of himself,and of other people."Maddy scoffed derisively,and turned back to the keyboard to take the picture off the screen. 

"I think he had good reason to be.People fear what they don't understand,"Naomi said,although she felt numb.This had to be bullshit,although it sounded plausible."And back then,no one knew of the mutant phenomenon." 

"He was better than those chimps,and yet he feared them.If he had any brains at all,he could have made a fortune-money equals both safety and power.And he lived long enough to amass money no matter what menial work he deigned to do.But did he?No." 

"He didn't want that,from the sound of it.It sounds like he wanted to be left alone.What's wrong with that?"Perversely,that did sound like Logan. 

Maddy swiveled back towards her,her icy blue eyes filled with contempt."He was a pussy,sis.A craven coward who wanted to drop out of the world.Even after he dropped out of the Organization,you know where he lived?A four room shack in the woods,and I mean in the woods:the nearest human was maybe twenty miles away,and the road was just a rutted path in the forest.It was a Unabomber type ramshackle hut with very little furniture,and electricity and running water handled by a gas fueled generator out back,so he didn't have to pay utility bills.It was one of the most depressing places I had ever seen;if desolation and failure had an architecture,that was it.Of course,it was the middle of nowhere,and should have been an ideal hiding place,but he had to come into town for supplies and to hit the bars,and that's where they caught him eventually-in a fucking bar's parking lot.How pathetic is that?The funny thing is,if he had slipped the net,he'd have been long gone:under the floorboards of his bed in that sad little shack was a locked suitcase containing ten thousand dollars in American and Canadian cash,and two separate i.d. packets-visas,passports,birth certificates,driver's licenses,all very authentic looking-under two different names.That's the two things Logan does really well:fight and run.Or,at least it used to be." 

She didn't know if it was the drugs,all the bullshit,or a combination of the two,but she felt dizzy with rage.If she didn't break open this smug little bitch's skull in the next minute she'd explode. 

But she was going to have play this carefully.First of all,she wasn't sure she could stand up, nonetheless move fast;and she had threatened to drain her of her memories,and she had no doubt she'd do it,sister or not.But then it suddenly occurred to her there was a flaw in her story.  
"If you burned through Logan's memories,why is starting to remember things?" 

That got her.She winced,as if the comment was a personal attack,and admitted,"I was young and undisciplined then,and I drained him before his operations.I wasn't responsible for the after part.But it does seem that his mutation extends to his brain." 

"Meaning?" 

She sighed wearily,as if it pained her to discuss it.Good."His memory engrams seem to be regenerating.A medical impossibility,but everything about him is an impossibility." 

"So,even if you do drain him of his memory again,they'll grow back." 

"Eventually.It's taken him,what,fifteen years to get this far?In another fifteen years,we should have what we want." 

The drugs made it hard to think,but not impossible."If I go along with your plan,I don't want Logan hurt anymore.Do you understand me?" 

She shook her head,that patronizing smile back in full force."Sorry,sis,it doesn't work like that. He's gotta be broken down to his core programming;there's no way to fake that." 

"But I want him back intact when this is over,"she insisted,meaning it.She wanted him intact now,but she had to play it cool,or she could accidentally do worse than killing them all."Can we use a telepath instead?Drugs?Something that will alter him enough that it will take him to core programming while only semi-permanently damaging his memories?I want him to remember me." 

Her cold eyes narrowed,studying her like an ant under a microscope."Holy shit.You can't like that hairy freak." 

"He means a lot to me,and he's been hurt enough in his life."She fought to keep the hate from her eyes,and the sneer from her voice.She wanted to kill her so badly it was like a sour metallic taste in the back of his throat. 

Maddy's scrutiny was intense,like being subjected to an x-ray scan that burned like the sun."If you think you can swing some ploy where you pretend to play along and then free Logan,let me assure you now,none of you are leaving here without my help.Try anything like that,and I can guarantee a full erasure of you both." 

"Logan and I came here to get you out.If I go along,will this get you out?" 

She seemed to study her for a long moment,trying to judge her veracity."Eventually,yes." 

"Then promise me I'll get Logan at the end of it." 

"If you want him that bad,he's yours.But only when I say so.No trying to spring him before.Got it?" 

Before Naomi could force herself to agree,a strip light on the wall flashed blue,making Maddy's head snap around violently."What is it?"Naomi asked,slightly hopeful. 

"An internal alert.Something's wrong,but they don't want whoever to know they're on to them." 

Naomi had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling,and wondered if it was Logan or Angel.Or both. 

    22 

    Logan still had that curious,skin crawling feeling,like a sunburn (not that he had ever sunburned...had he?),but he was now aware of his surroundings,his place in space and time. 

He could feel the metal table beneath him,the adamantium shackles around his wrists and ankles,pinning him down.The room reeked of gunpowder,he could even taste it in his mouth like grit,and he remembered being shot,which was why he felt a bit like he'd been trampled by horses.Frankenstein was paying for that,goddamn it. 

He could still hear the blip of the machines,and told himself mentally to keep his heart rate at the level it was now,to keep his thoughts to a bare minimum and hope the sluggish activity barely showed on the monitors.Because he knew they would probably move him soon,and if they thought he was still out,their guard would be down. 

Until this moment,he didn't realize he knew anything about meditation or biofeedback,but he knew how to keep his heart rate and breathing slow and steady,concentrating solely on that until he was almost asleep.He felt queerly semi-conscious,but still aware enough to smell the blood and gunpowder,to hear the machines keeping regimental time. 

The door hissed open;he kept his heart rate steady,breathing lethargic.Three sets of footsteps on a metal floor,then a pause as someone leaned over,looking at the machine read outs,looking at him."Give him another dose,"a voice he recognized as Frankenstein's said."He could regain consciousness at any time." 

Sooner than you think,Logan thought,with a twinge of satisfaction. 

He felt the needle jabbed into his arm,but he gave no reaction at all.If it was the same stuff as before-which he rather hoped-it would hardly work,if at all. 

He was feeling very warm,almost feverish,when he heard someone unlock the first shackle. 

    *** 

    Sanders took the final bite of his apple and chewed it thoughtfully as Bishop brought the tip of the scalpel's blade down onto the center of Angel's milky pale chest.What the hell was the nature of his mutation? 

After all,Angel seemed immune to the gas that took out everyone-including Logan-at Dry Lake, and yet the drugs they had used on Logan seemed to kill him here.Was the difference that it was injected instead of aspired?Why would that matter?Were his lungs different somehow? 

Bishop had just broken the skin,drawing up a small,crimson bead of blood,when something happened that Sanders refused to believe at first. 

Angel's hand shot up,lightning fast,and grabbed Bishop's wrist,making the older man gasp and jump in shock.Angel's eyes opened,squinting at the bright lights of the operating theater."Stop it,that tickles,"he said,then slammed a flat palm into the center of Bishop's forehead,sending him crashing down to the tiled floor. 

Then Angel looked up at the last place Bishop must have looked-up at the observation deck. 

Sanders felt the apple core fall from his hand as he realized something had happened to Angel's face.The eyes that seemed to bore through the thick glass were as yellow as the sun,and his forehead had...what the hell had happened to it?And his teeth didn't always look like that,did they? 

Angel's jumping off the table shocked Sanders into finally moving.He knew he was dead;it was not a coma,it was not one of those Zen meditation things:he did not breathe at all,or have a pulse,for over a half an hour.And he was cold as ice.He was 'stick-a-a-fork-in-him-he's-done' stone cold fucking dead.And what the hell had happened to his face? 

He jolted out of his seat and ran for the door,but the window seemed to explode behind him, and he instinctively ducked as shards of glass pelted him like frozen rain.Just as he reached up for the door controls,he was roughly grabbed by the lapels of his jacket and thrown against the wall hard enough to lose all his breath. 

"Now,if you want to live,you're going to tell me where Logan and Naomi are,"Angel-or whatever he was now-snarled into his face,jagged teeth flashing like a panther's."And tell me how to quietly disable the internal security system." 

Up close,his jaundiced eyes were even more animalistic,inhuman,and when he got his breath back,Sanders still refused to believe what had just happened."You're dead,"he exclaimed,not sure how any of this happened.What kind of mutant freak was he?He was more deeply mutated than anyone he had ever seen.Was it possible he didn't even need to breathe,to have a beating heart?That was insane. 

Angel glared at him as if he was the stupidest man alive."Tell me something I don't know."He then glanced down at himself,noticing as if for the first time he was naked,and said,"Like where my clothes are.Now,I'm no fan of the logger grunge look,but it was better than nothing." 

This day could not get more surreal if it tried.Sanders hoped he'd wake up from this nightmare any second. 

But he never did. 

    *** 

    It was like torture to wait for them to undo all the shackles-they seemed to be deliberately moving as slow as possible-but sadly Logan was accustomed to torture,and endured it.He knew it would be worth it in the end. 

The last ankle shackle undone,he was grabbed roughly and yanked off the table,and remained as limp as a freshly dead body as the two soldiers (yes-he could smell the oil on their guns,the ozone scent of paralyzers) propped him up between them. 

Only then did he make his move. 

He snapped his head up to the right,smashing his skull straight into the face of the larger soldier,his bones shattering under the adamantium,and warm blood spurted onto Logan seconds before the man crumpled to the floor,unconscious and surely better for it. 

His right arm free,Logan lashed out with his fist and hit the second soldier so hard he went right over the metal table,the paralyzer he was reaching for clattering uselessly to the floor. 

Leaving him with Doctor Frankenstein. 

Running would have been the smart thing to try,but he was too stupid for that:he went for the paralyzer. 

Logan couldn't help but smile.Oh,good,he wanted a fight.The man was a moron-how'd he get to be a doctor? 

He let him grab it as he popped his claws and lashed out,shredding the paralyzer in his hands and nearly slicing his fingers off.A small electric shock tingled down his skeleton,but it was not at paralyzing strength;hell,Naomi had given him worse shocks accidentally. 

But it was Frankenstein that jumped back as if shocked,putting his back to the wall,his small, sunken eyes rapidly scudding from his face to the floor as he looked for more weapons. 

"There's no getting out of here alive,Logan,"he claimed,trying to sound steely,and almost succeeding.But there was a small tremor that gave away his fear,along with the smell."You'll have no chance at all if you kill me." 

"I don't want to kill you,"he growled,keeping his claws out and ready.He made sure Frankenstein was conscious of them,and was he ever:once his ferrety eyes focused on them,they couldn't seem to  move away."I want to torture you.I want to slice off a small bit of you at a time,for as long as humanly possible.Ever wonder what it feels like,huh?" 

"You can't scare me."He lied,so blatantly Logan couldn't help but chuckle mirthlessly.This fucking bastard was a muscular contraction away from wetting himself. 

"How many people have you tortured?Do you know?Did you keep count?" 


	10. Part 10

The doctor kept sidling slowly towards the door,obviously thinking he didn't notice."I do not torture.I am expanding the boundaries of medical science." 

Logan slammed his left claw into the wall,so close to his face the tip of one claw sliced open a horizontal line on Frankenstein's cheek.The man froze in utter terror,not even breathing,what little color there was in his face draining away as he stared goggle eyed at his left hand claw, which hovered inches from his throat."Maybe I want to expand medical science too.Are you right or left handed?" 

Blood dribbling down the gash on his cheek,he dropped his pathetic stoic facade and got real."I can help you escape,"he said,not quite begging,but coming damn close."It doesn't have to be this way." 

"Yes it does.You made the rules,not me." 

"Do you want you and your friends to live,Logan?Then you'll have to work with me,or you haven't a prayer." 

Friends?That almost threw him,until he realized that he didn't just dream that Naomi was calling his name.She really had."You have Naomi?"At once,he was both relieved and infuriated.  
He leaned in close to his ugly face,glaring down into his cold,dead eyes."Where is she?If you hurt her,I'll tear you pieces." 

"She's fine;Angel is fine.But they won't be if you don't let me me live." 

Angel?Holy shit,how'd he get here so fast?And why?Had Naomi called him?Why didn't she mention it? 

But right now that was kind of irrelevant."Where are they?" 

The doctor tried his hardest to look dignified,even with blood dribbling off his face and fear making his eyes as bright as silver."Hurt me and you'll never find out." 

Logan nodded,looking off towards the door,then drove his left claw straight into the flesh of the doctor's chest,nailing him to the wall where the shoulder met the collarbone.He let out a sort of breathless scream,his face contorting into a strange parody of an Edvard Munch painting,and Logan couldn't help but sneer at him."At what point did you think that would work?Did you think I was bluffing?" 

He squeaked a few times,but finally found a way to speak,standing stock still so as not to make his wound worse."I know things about you,Logan,"he stammered."I could tell you who you really are-" 

"You're full of shit.Where are Naomi and Angel?Tell me now,or I rip the claw down and take your arm off at the shoulder.Or do you think I'm bluffing?"He still felt too warm,but he wasn't sure if it was the drugs in his system making him feel like he was looking down at things from a hot tunnel,or if it was simply his rage afflicting him like a fever.He could hear nothing but a sort of white noise of rushing blood in his ears,his muscles tensing unbidden.God,he wanted to rip him apart.He wanted to splatter him all over this tin can of a room like the fucking garbage he was;he wanted him to suffer and bleed like mutants.Like him. 

"Electra is down in lab four;Angel is in operating theater one,"he stammered,now milk white in shock as his blood continued streaming down the wall behind him,channeled by Logan's claws. 

Logan didn't really know which sounded worse:Naomi in a lab,or Angel in operating room. No,he did-Naomi in the lab.Angel was supposedly dead;what in the fuck could they possibly do to him that was worth than that? 

("Death is not necessarily the worst case scenario,sunshine," that woman's voice said in his head again.But she didn't need to tell him;he knew that all the way down to his adamantium bones.) 

"Good boy.Where's con?"He snarled through gritted teeth.He had to get Naomi out of the lab first,but after that,there was only one thing left to do:go to 'con' (control) and blow this hellhole the fuck up.And if Angel hadn't shown himself by then,yeah,they'd go get him.But he'd better have a hell of an excuse for not getting himself out of there. 

For a second,Logan thought maybe he had balls-as well as a depthless well of stupidity- and wasn't going to tell him,but then he said,"Lower level.There's a secret access at the end of the Southeastern corridor.But it's guarded." 

"Who cares?I'm armed,"Logan replied,and retracted his claws. 

The doc let out a small squeak from the base of his throat before sagging down the wall,holding his right shoulder as if it might fall off any second,and as soon as he neared the floor,Logan rammed his knee straight into his face.His nose crunched and spurted warm blood on his leg as Frankenstein's head met the wall with an almost bell like noise,and he collapsed to the floor like a twenty pound sack of shit. 

Logan knew he should kill him now;he could taste it like blood in his mouth,acid burning through his veins,the roar of blood in his head so loud he couldn't hear anything else.But he wanted this bastard to suffer as long as possible before being blown to smithereens. 

"Maybe you'd have been better off goin' to law school,"he snapped,giving him a vicious kick in the ribs before looking around for the guards.One of them had to have an unbloodied shirt he could borrow. 

And just maybe a gun as well. 

    23 

    At first,Naomi thought it was a side effect of the drugs. 

Her hands felt warm,flushed with blood,but when she glanced at them they weren't red like she thought;they were still pale.The heat was from the electricity gathering in her hands. 

The drugs were wearing off,slowly but surely,and while she could feel the faint tingle of electricity in her hands,it was nowhere near a good charge-yet-and she still seemed unable to draw the strength to shoot it at anyone.But maybe if she got in grabbing distance... 

Maddy stood up,shutting down her computer,and Naomi thought to stand,but a dizzy spell made her think better of it."Where are you going?"She asked anxiously,fully aware of where she was going. 

"I have to see what's going on." 

"I'll come with you." 

Maddy's smirk was patronizing."No,I don't think so.I hope you don't think I'm actually going to believe you just because you told me what I wanted to hear.Trust is earned,not given,and you'll have a chance to earn it later,but not now.You can just sit tight and wait for me." 

"I came all this way to find you,to rescue you,"she pointed out plaintively."I almost got myself and Logan killed for you.And you still don't trust me?" 

She affected a wounded look,and Maddy looked marginally guilty as she left the room,the door sealing and locking behind her with a muted,electronic clank. 

Good;she hoped the little bitch choked on that. 

She concentrated for a moment,and then,when she felt she had enough strength,stood up.She almost fell right over,but managed to keep on her feet long enough to stagger to the computer bank against the left side wall. 

As soon as she touched the cool metal and plastic,she laid her hands flat against it and closed her eyes,focusing all her thoughts on pinpointing the electricity humming through the vast machines. 

It was like a secret river,a faint hum that seemed to reverberate through her bone marrow and echo down her nerves,and while it took more exertion on her part than it should have,she thought she could finally feel tendrils of it reaching out towards her,through metal and plastic,glass and insulation. 

If she couldn't generate enough energy inside herself,maybe she could borrow it from somewhere else. 

    *** 

    Angel was not so stupid that he trusted this guy-he only identified himself as Sanders-but he had escorted him to the right junction node,where the power was routed to the internal security system.Escorted was the right term,since Angel was wearing the uniform of the commandos who were as rife as cockroaches in a tenement,and Angel followed Sanders so closely he could just about read the tag in his underwear. 

Now that was a creepy analogy. 

Anyways,Sanders was so terrified of him he was being slavishly obedient,but Angel knew he was going to try something;he had to.And maybe bringing him here was part of his 'master plan',but it wasn't going to work.He couldn't let it. 

"It's a regeneration thing,right?"Sanders asked,curiosity overwhelming his fear as Angel opened the junction's access panel.There certainly was a lot of circuitry."You're like Wolverin',only more so,right?" 

Did he actually say "Wolverin''?Somebody was certainly from Texas here."Nobody is like Wolverine,"Angel replied,making a point of pronouncing it correctly,hoping he'd get the message."Let's just say neither of us stay hurt for very long."Well,there was the wood and sun thing,but he wasn't about to mention that.And how could he almost forget beheading? 

Angel made Sanders stand with his back to the wall by the access panel,so he could keep an eye on him.As it was,he was so scared of him he seemed to be in no mood to be smart;whenever Angel thought he might be,he let his vamp face show,and that seemed to kick the smarts right out of him. 

These tangles of multicolored wires and circuitry boards made no sense to Angel at all,so he looked at Sanders,vampire face back on,and snapped,"Disable the internal security system." 

Sanders did the same double take he always did when he saw his face like that,and made a last ditch appeal."Even with internal security down,you can't possibly get out of here alive." 

Angel frowned at him,nearly cutting open his lower lip on his own fang."Considering I came back from the dead,do you think that matters to me?" 

Sanders actually nodded,as if he had made a very salient rejoinder in a spirited but friendly debated."That is a very good point."Finally,he turned to the open access point and began pulling out wires,Angel watching him the whole time. 

No audible alarms went off,but Angel still couldn't believe Sanders hadn't done something to send out an alarm-he was too scared not to."Done,"Sanders said,turning away from the access. 

"You'd better not be shitting me." 

"I wouldn't dare." 

"Then is Logan still in lab seven?" 

"As far as I know.But-" 

Angel didn't wait for him to finish whatever he was going to say,he simply grabbed his head and smashed it into the wall. 

Sanders was out cold before he hit the ground.It hadn't been personal-well,not really-it was just he was working on a time limit here. 

Angel grabbed Sanders by the back of his tweed sports coat-a very strange and unsettling Giles sort of touch-and dragged him over to what looked like a utility room of some sort.A look inside proved he was wrong;it was just a plain old closet.Still,good enough-he dragged Sanders inside and left him sprawled on the floor as he left to find lab seven. 

According to the base diagram he made Sanders show him,it was two corridors down,fourth door on the left.He moved quickly and purposefully down the echoing metal halls,trying his best to appear to be nothing more than an eager commando,or whatever the hell these guys exactly were.He really didn't want to bring the cavalry down until he found Logan and Naomi,if that was at all possible. 

He had a paralyzer,which seemed to come with the uniform,and he had it out and ready as he hit the door release mechanism for lab seven,storming in the instant the door opened... 

...and found that Logan had beaten him to the punch. 

The smell of blood in the room was cloying,and the claw marks in the wall-and in the shoulder of an older man passed out on the near right side of the small room-seemed to indicate that maybe somebody let their guard down around Logan for a millisecond.Angel knew from painful experience that sometimes Logan could move almost vampire fast;he was not normal,and anyone who thought he was usually got a rude awakening. 

The three men-two commandos and a doctor,he guessed-were broken,bleeding,and down for the count,but not dead.That gave him hope that it was still Logan,and not his quasi alter ego (it was too much like him to be a genuine alter ego) Wolverine. 

But that still begged the question:Where in the hell was Logan? 

    *** 

    It was a slow process,but Naomi could feel the electricity slowly building in her hands and forearms;not enough to 'shoot',but a hell of a lot more than she had had before.Some of the computer's lighted panels were flickering,their energy diverting to her,and she hoped it was playing hell with their hard drives.She would have preferred to get up to full strength,but she'd settle for enough electricity to disrupt at least one major system...or be fatal to at least one person. 

A noise outside the door made her stagger away from the computers and back towards her cot, wondering if she'd had enough energy accumulated to bring that little bitch down.She honestly wasn't sure;the drugs had thrown off all her internal gauges,ones she had never consciously realized she had until now. 

There was a louder noise-it sounded like tearing metal,and she could feel as well as hear the sparks flying,making a gauge to the right of the door flicker-and the door was forced open on its recessed track,screaming in protest.Half way open,someone slid inside. 

It was Logan,for some reason wearing an intact commando sweater along with his strangely torn and bloodstained jeans,adamantium claws out as he looked for someone to fight. 

But his angry,almost desperate eyes met hers and locked,and for a millisecond they stared at each other like they thought they might be delusional apparitions.But then there was some sort of invisible snap,a mutual acceptance of reality,and Logan,claws retracting into his hands with a muted metallic noises-not unlike someone hastily sheathing swords in metal scabbards- actually came to her,taking her almost fiercely in his arms.She clung to him just as desperately, burying her face in his warm neck. 

"I was afraid you were dead,"he said into her hair. 

"I was afraid..."she began,then stopped.Now was probably not the time to mention torture or brainwashing-especially since she could smell blood on him.She wanted to believe it was someone else's,but as her stomach roiled,anger pumping in far too much acid,she couldn't.It was Logan's,and someone else's,but probably mostly his.Didn't those strange holes in his jeans look a lot like bullet holes?Bastards;fucking bastards.And her sister worked willingly with them."I was just afraid."She concluded,blinking back tears that were a mix of anger,sorrow,and self-pity. 

She wasn't sure if he did it or she did it,and in the end it didn't matter;they kissed passionately, and she was so glad to see him again-her Logan,not theirs,not 'Wolverine'-that she could almost ignore the fact that she thought she tasted blood in his mouth. 

Bastards;her thoughts were a litany of it-bastardsbatstardsbastards.She couldn't remember the last time she had been this angry. 

He pulled away from the kiss and gave her a very serious,concerned look."I wasn't shocked." 

Did that happen every time?She really didn't feel it,so she wasn't sure."They gave me drugs that block my powers somehow.I think it's starting to wear off,but not fast enough." 

He muttered under his breath-did he just say "Bastards" ?-and asked,"Are you all right?Did-are you hurt?"She noticed his eyes had briefly locked onto the cast on her left forearm. 

She shook her head,touched by his concern."No,I'm fine;that was a souvenir of the explosion.We just got here,really." 

"We?You mean you and Angel?" 

She nodded again,deciding not to ask how he knew.Maybe some of that blood on him was the answer,and she didn't really want to know."He found me in the hospital after the gas station went up.He said Cordy had one of her vision things about you being in trouble,so he came to help." 

"It would have been more helpful if Cordy could have warned us in advance." 

That thought had crossed her mind,but all she could do was shrug."Psychics." 

He nodded and grabbed her good hand;she managed to keep the electricity at bay,so he didn't get a jolt."Come on,we'll get your sister and Angel,and get the fuck out of here." 

"Wait,Logan,"she said,pulling him to a stop before he could drag her all the way towards the door.He turned to look at her,more impatient than annoyed."About my sister...she's not a prisoner." 

"She's not here?" 

"No,she is.She works for them."It was painful to admit;and the next sentence-"I think she robbed you of all your memories."-was so agonizing she could not even say it. 

"Are you sure?They could have been bullshitting you." 

"This is her office,Logan.She told me herself." 

He grimaced,briefly casting his eyes down at the floor."Ah fuck,"he cursed angrily,but when he looked up,she saw nothing but sympathy in his eyes."I'm so sorry,Naomi." 

Maybe he was thinking he was sorry because he might have to kill her to get them out of here, but that didn't bother her in the least.She wanted to tell him that,but the words got stuck in her throat.All she could say,honestly,feeling tears sting her eyes,was,"No,I'm sorry,Logan." 

And she was;she was so sorry she was almost sick with it.Because a member of her family had taken something from him that could not be replaced,and she wondered,if on some level,he knew that. 

She had nothing but time to think in here,and she remembered that strange girl he had told her about in the truck,Rogue,and how by touching people she could drain them;he had thought of her when she had mentioned Maddy.It couldn't have been coincidence.Somewhere,deep in his unconscious existed some fragment of memory,maybe just a suspicion,that once a young woman had touched him with her bare hands and stolen everything he ever was.Maybe he wasn't consciously aware of it now,but some day he would be.And he would realize the thief was her sister. 

He looked at her,clearly confused,and said,"It wasn't your fault,Naomi.You didn't know." 

She wondered if he was commenting on her thoughts,or on the fact that her sister was one of the enemy. 

He seemed to notice the blue pulsing light on the wall out of the corner of his eye,and his head snapped towards it violently,indicating he knew exactly what it was,and what it meant."Oh shit." 

"I know.Let's find Angel and go." 

Since the door was only partially open,he had to slide through first,and she followed him,or at least tried;Logan suddenly shoved her back,with a harsh,sharp,"Stay inside." 

Although her first urge was to tell him to fuck off,she peered out instead,and just beyond one of his broad shoulders,she could see armed guards-some in armor,some not-bottlenecking the left side corridor,weapons raised and aimed at Logan.Craning her neck towards the other side,she could see them like a black fog in the right hand branch of the opposite corridor. 

What a time for her to have almost no powers at all. 

    24 

    Logan had no doubt he could make mincemeat of the unarmored guards-he probably wouldn't even work up a decent sweat taking them all on-but the armored ones were a problem. How in the hell was he going to hurt them? 

He kept looking between the ones on the left and the ones on the right,waiting for them to make a move,any move,but in this tense,frozen moment in time,they seemed to be waiting for him to commit himself first. 

Before he could,a siren screeched through the metal corridors,making them all start slightly,and the lights dimmed to blood red as a full bore emergency alert kicked into motion.The klaxon was sort of familiar-he'd heard it at Dry Lake,hadn't he?And maybe somewhere else...Alkali Lake? 

He saw several of the soldiers look around in confusion as their radios crackled to life."Total lockdown in effect.Prisoners have escaped from ward one,ward two-" 

"Ah fuck,they're stormin' the front!"A frantic young man shouted from another radio,as the man on the other continued blandly naming wards."I need back up ASAP!Ah sh-" 

His voice disappeared in a snap of static. 

A metal wall-part of the total lockdown protocol-suddenly appeared to grow out of the floor on the left,and before they had any time to react,it sealed Logan off from them,and trapped them in a back corridor. 

Logan smiled at the uneasy group of commandos on the right;there were maybe a dozen of them,evenly split between the armored and the unarmored.Now this was a bit more even fight. 

Some of them started backing up,while others held their ground,and others looked between them for guidance.Obviously they had no idea what had happened,but Logan thought he knew-Angel had let them all out.Nothing like a little chaos to shake things up. 

Suddenly there was movement at the back of the group,and a noise of metal on metal like someone smacking a hammer against the side of a car,and he saw one of the armor clad soldiers stagger and collapse to the floor. 

A helmeted soldier in black waved what looked like a silver pipe as several others turned to look at him."It turns out there's a weakness in the back of the armor.Well,if you hit 'em hard enough,"Angel's muffled voice said,and then he tossed the pipe over the heads of the soldiers and straight towards him. 

Logan caught it easily as several commandos jumped Angel,and when one of the armored soldiers charged him with his paralyzer out,he swung the pipe so hard he was rather surprised it didn't rip his head clean off his shoulders. 

Actually,in spite of the impressive noise of impact there wasn't even a dent in the helmet,but the man staggered and went down as two others attempted to tackle him;one of them unarmored. 

He caught the unarmored man with a kick to the face that sent him flying backward,and then rammed the adamantium pipe like a knife into the armored guard's throat.Either there was a weakness there too,or it was just the force of impact,because he staggered backwards,away from Logan. 

Other soldiers joined the fight,but it was hard to tell,as things were just a dark blur of bodies; flying bodies for the most part-having cracked the armor code,Angel seemed to be having little trouble taking care of anyone who came his way.He had to hand it to the guy-he was not a bad fighter,whatever he was. 

But Logan still knew he could kick his ass. 

He scared off one soldier simply by baring his claws,and out of the corner of his eye he saw Naomi rip the helmet off one man from behind and jam a paralyzer in his throat.Who couldn't be crazy about a woman like that? 

Logan was so busy with two armored soldiers that when he heard a heavy metallic thud,he assumed Angel had nailed another one,but then Naomi shouted,distressed,"Logan!" 

He smashed the rod so hard into the second guard's helmet it slipped from his grip and spun away as he pivoted to face what appeared to be an unarmored,unarmed woman with long black hair,an angry look on her face,and clear blue eyes remarkably reminiscent of Naomi's.Maddy? 

He had no idea why she had just thrown off her gloves,but he assumed it wasn't good. 

    *** 

    Angel had no idea what had hit him. 

He had just nailed one armored guard quite literally into the wall,throwing him face first into it and following up with a fist to the back of the neck,hard enough that it would have broken a vertebrae had he not had some protection from the armor.But just as he turned away something caught him in the back of the neck. 

A solid,vicious blow,his ears rang with the noise of impact inside the helmet and stars exploded before his eyes,causing him to crash down onto the floor on one knee,his consciousness briefly threatening to ebb away from him. 

He clawed to hold onto it as he saw,through the pale grey filter of the helmet,a woman stalk past him,throwing the iron bar she had just hit him with aside as she ripped off her suede gloves,walking with an angry purpose towards Logan. 

Naomi,still on theside of the corridor,shouted,"Logan!" and he could hear the fear in her voice. Angel was willing to bet the woman was a mutant Naomi was familiar with-and not one on their side.Why else would she be weaponless (well,in the overt sense) and not at all cowed by Logan in full berserker mode? 

Logan spun to face the woman,popping his claws and snarling at her,not at all concerned,but Angel suddenly wondered if he should be.He struggled to get to his feet,intending to take the woman out before she could reach her target,but she was too close for him to reach her first. 

"Don't let her touch you!"Naomi shouted,as she leaped and tackled the woman from the side,smashing her into the far wall. 

What happened next occurred so quickly that Angel only knew what happened exactly in retrospect.Naomi grabbed the woman hard by the upper arms,and the woman grabbed her by the side of the head,and both screamed-Naomi in rage,the other woman in pain-as they both unleashed their powers on each other. 

He didn't know what the other woman was doing,but even through the helmet,Angel could smell the burning flesh:Naomi was electrocuting her. 

Logan tried to grab Naomi and pull her away,but as soon as he touched Naomi he got a huge electric shock that Angel saw as a brief flash of blue that made him reel away,trying to shake the numbness out of his hand and pretend that his knees did not almost give way due to the intensity of the current. 

It didn't last long,but it was seconds that seemed like an eternity before the two women collapsed to metal floor of the hallway. 

Logan was by Naomi's side instantly,picking up her distressingly limp body in his arms as Angel got to his feet with the help of the wall and went over to the other woman,taking off his helmet for a better look. 

Well,the smoking hair was a clue she was dead,if her open eyes baked into a strange hardboiled egg consistency and her scorched meat odor wasn't enough of a hint.But he recognized her-it took him a moment,but he realized it was the woman the handler had claimed was Naomi's sister.   
Was she?Did Naomi know? 

Angel got the sinking feeling she did;she had known that Logan was not supposed to touch her. 

"Naomi?"Logan asked,cradling her gently in his arms,berserker rage all but forgotten.He didn't seem to give a good god damn about the dead woman either."Naomi,can you hear me?" 

Her eyes fluttered open,and it seemed to be a struggle to keep them that way,but she managed, and when she looked up at Logan,she gave him the most curiously blank look Angel had ever seen. 

Logan didn't notice,or he didn't care.He gave her a small smile,and said,"Hey,thanks.You really kick ass,you know that?" 

She continued giving him that strange look,and finally he noticed,because his fragile smile faltered before she asked,"Who are you?" 

It wasn't a joke;she didn't recognize him.And Angel was willing to bet she wouldn't recognize him either. 

He had heard what he assumed to be two handlers discussing "Lethe",and he thought they meant a drug.He had a sick feeling now they may have been discussing a person.Wolverine, Electra... Lethe. 

Logan must have heard something similar,because the stony look on his face suggested he had come to a concurrent thought as he helped Naomi up to her feet."Where am I?"She asked,looking around.She then looked at Angel."Who are you?"Her eyes then scudded past him,towards the dead body of the woman still faintly smoking on the floor. 

"Prison break,"Logan said,and his voice had a curious hard flatness to it that Angel didn't like one bit."You'd better get out of here.They're killing mutants.He can get you out."He gestured towards Angel,and gave her a very gentle push in his direction. 

Naomi came towards him,but gave Logan a curious glance."Prisoner?I'm a prisoner?" 

"Not anymore,"Angel reassured her,shooting Logan a question with his eyes.A question that clearly meant "What the hell do you think you're doing,Logan".When Naomi turned to him,he gave her his best reassuring smile,and said,"I'm Angel,and that's Logan.We're all friends here." 

"Get her out,"Logan ordered,heading down the hall."This place is bound to self-destruct soon enough."Logan's back was ramrod rigid,but his shoulders were thrown back and his head down, making him look somewhat feline as he stalked down the corridor,everything in his posture screaming that a whole bunch of people-anybody who came within his line of sight- was going to pay for this,dearly and violently. 

"Logan,wait,"he said.Logan setting off for revenge in the heat of the moment was going to get him killed-maybe get them all killed. 

Logan paused and threw him a glance over his shoulder,his eyes as hard as emeralds."There's no time,Angel,and she can't get out by herself." 

That was true,all of it.But he didn't like it."Come with us then." 

"I have a doctor to pay back."A muscle in Logan's jaw seemed to jump beneath his flesh,spasming so violently he thought it might be trying to break out of his skin."Then I'll join you." 

Angel had a cold feeling they'd be waiting for Logan forever."Wait for me.I'll get her out,and then I'll help you.You can't do this alone."He wanted to stop him,of course,but he was hoping Logan was too angry to guess that. 

Logan said nothing,he simply continued down the hall,and Angel shouted after him,insistently, "Wait for me!" 

Before he disappeared around the bend of the hall,Logan looked back at him and at the still deeply confused Naomi standing beside him,hard lines of resolve and hate etching into his weary face."I'll do my best,"he said flatly,then left them standing there,with nothing but the dead and unconscious to keep them company. 

    25 

NOW 

    Angel stood up,almost positive he could feel the cold of the snow seeping into his bones as he looked back at the smoking crater where the base used to be.Without even thinking about it he helped Naomi up to her feet.  
"I don't understand,"she said,her voice curiously thick with a French Canadian accent that used to be mild at best (But she's been taken back to a place where she still had it,Angel thought,his cold stomach briefly twisting.To think a mutant had the power to simply erase someone's mind...)"Why were we in there?I don't remember being arrested." 

"We weren't arrested,we were kidnapped,"he said,and started slogging through the thick, displaced snow and assorted detritus to the edge of the crater.Logan couldn't be dead-how could he be dead?But this explosion had probably killed many,and could kill almost any mutant alive.And almost any demon,come to think of it."They were experimenting on mutants." 

"Why?" 

"I can't answer that one."He reached the edge,causing snow melting under hot debris to tumble into the crater in a mini-avalanche,and when he looked down,he saw nothing but charred debris,and some twisted adamantium pipes and warped metal wall panels that had survived the explosion relatively intact and come back to rest at the detonation (?) point.But no Logan; and very few chunks of humans,as the explosion had been violent enough to have vaporized most of them immediately. 

He heard Naomi come up beside him,and look down,holding onto his arm so she didn't tumble in.Whatever electricity she had been able to generate through the drugs was gone,spent all on Maddy;he felt no shock when she touched him,even though he had braced for it."What are we looking for?"She wondered. 

He thought he felt a lump in his throat.He had failed Logan,and perhaps he had unintentionally failed Naomi as well."I don't know." 


	11. Part 11

They hurt Naomi-no matter that she had seemingly volunteered for it,trying to protect Logan from her sister-and Logan took that personally;he should have known he was going to make them all pay for that,even if it meant forfeiting his life in the bargain.He should have guessed;he should have known. 

Angel turned away,gently grabbing Naomi's arm to escort her towards the rutted dirt road in hopes of finding an intact vehicle there,when he heard a small noise,metal scraping against metal. 

He spun back to look,and finally traced the noise to a small collection of metal panels at the bottom of the crater,still roughly shaped like the collapsed room they must have once comprised. "Logan,"Angel shouted,shrugging off Naomi's arm and jumping down into the crater.He landed slightly unbalanced on other pieces of metal detritus,but managed not to lose his balance and make a complete ass of himself. 

"He's alive?"Naomi asked,clearly doubtful."No one could survive that." 

"You don't know Logan,"he replied,before realizing that that was now true.Son of a bitch.And she had loved him.Did Logan know that?Did he guess? 

Silver claws shot through a seam in the collapsed panels and help part them,one falling aside like the flap of a tent.As Angel reached the edge of it,Logan staggered up to his feet,rising like an unsteady phoenix from the metallic ashes. 

He had blood seeping down his neck from his ears,and some of it had collected in the corner of his mouth,although it looked like the bleeding there had already stopped.As Angel watched the burned skin on the left side of his face was growing back,spreading like a living stain over raw red flesh.The facial hair on that side was gone,but probably not for long. 

Logan's glassy eyes tracked towards him,and he continued to stagger,making Angel realize for the first time Logan was barefoot;half of his borrowed commando sweater had been burned away too,although the exposed skin looked shiny and taut,as perfect as a newborn's. 

"Adamantium lined bunkers in con,"Logan said,his voice a fragile thing,the white clouds of mist created by the air leaving his lungs as flimsy as vapor trails in a blindingly blue sky."I wonder if they had them at Alkali." 

His eyes rolled up,exposing white,and he crumpled,but Angel managed to catch him before he hit the ground,amazed as always by the heaviness of his body. 

"How did he survive?"Naomi asked,still at the edge of the crater,looking on in a sort of horrified fascination.But there was no recognition on her face,and Angel knew then that there probably never would be. 

"He's Logan."he told her,unable to explain it at the moment."He always does." 

    ***  
TWO DAYS LATER 

    From what Naomi had told them,and from what they had been able to piece together,Maddy had stolen ten years of her life. 

It could have been worse-she could have taken it all before Naomi pumped enough volts through her to kill her.But it was still an unspeakable loss,a crime so horrific there could be no atoning for it,even if Maddy had survived.But of course,that bitch was toast,and Logan couldn't help but be damn glad about that. 

Yet still he wondered if Maddy had taken his memories in the first place. 

He wished one of them could tell him,that anyone could tell him,but of course those that might have known hadn't survived.Still,there had to be someone in that entire fucked up organization who knew,who had to know. 

But where were they now? 

Probably hiding in the wastelands of Alberta,in the inhospitable arteries of the Canadian Rockies and beyond,stretching outward like a flesh eating virus towards the blasted snowscapes of the former Northern Territories,and perhaps sending out tendrils towards the States and even far beyond that,possibly reaching its poisoned arms towards the sunbaked deserts of Mexico. 

He would find them.Logan felt the resolve like a lead ball in his stomach,one radiant with hate.He would find those bastards,he would hunt them down,he would take a pound of flesh from them for everything they had done to him-and for taking Naomi away from him.Away from her whole life. 

The anger and sorrow of it tasted like bile in his mouth,a bad taste at the back of his throat he could not spit out or wash away,and in spite of the rage burning through his bloodstream,he had felt nothing but cold.And he hated the fucking cold;he didn't want to be cold anymore.But until he could get some of this out,he was afraid he'd always be cold. 

As soon as he was fully healed from the explosion-which he could barely remember,but he attributed that to a head injury as opposed to something like Lethe or drugs-he called Naomi's parents,and told them there had been an 'incident' with the government (?) troops known to be pursuing their daughter,and she had lost a decade worth of memories.Just like he thought,they were eager to help her recover. 

Her mother asked if there had ever been a Madalyn.He said no,that it had just been a trap.And when she asked who he was,he simply said he was a friend. 

Then he swallowed his pride and called Xavier.But he was not doing it for himself. 

Logan explained that Naomi had lost many memories to these same men hunting him,and now was probably unprepared for the dangers that might still be ahead of her,as he doubted they'd stop hunting her;Electra was a powerful mutant,one they obviously still coveted.Xavier agreed, and agreed to relocate Naomi and her parents somewhere safer.He almost told him where that would be,but Logan stopped him,interrupting that the fewer people who knew the better.He didn't add that whereas the Professor could protect the info from other telepaths,he could not;Logan tried to convince himself that's why he didn't want to know. 

There was a significant pause before Xavier accepted that,sounding reluctant,then asked in his most plummy,patrician tone:"What happened,Logan?" 

See-he couldn't hide anything from a telepath."Maybe I'll tell you sometime,"he offered half heartedly,then hung up. 

He had to keep his distance from Naomi,for her own good.He should have stayed away from the beginning;none of this would have happened if he had. 

He'd hoped Angel would go back to L.A. as soon as he was recovered,but he was still hanging around,looking for a way to get back without bursting into flames.Or,at least that's what he claimed,but Logan smelled some do gooder ulterior motive.He kept giving him funny looks,as if he might explode any second.He resented the attention. 

One good thing Angel did was find the bike,which he had completely forgotten about.During some nighttime skulking at the site-he never said what exactly he was looking for ("I'm a detective.I look.")-he found it in the back of a truck that was far enough away from the area to have suffered little damage.Although he was glad to have it back with barely a scratch on it,he couldn't muster much enthusiasm about it. 

Once he hung up the phone after talking to Xavier,which for some reason left him feeling enervated,he noticed the dark and looming figure of Angel in the open common doorway between their hotel rooms (why Angel had gotten them joining rooms was obvious-he was trying to keep an eye on him.In a moment of anger,Logan had thrown open his curtains:the storm had moved past,and it was now clear and sunny outside,the sky as blue as the ground was white).Because the curtains were still open,the doorway was pretty much as far as he could venture,as golden light spilled all over the short napped ecru carpet and utilitarian furniture in the small,unremarkable room (to be fair,it was a slightly nicer hotel than the one he and Naomi had stayed in...and he didn't want to think about that)."What do you want now?"Logan snapped,placing his elbows on his knees and resting his face in his hands.He realized talking to someone while facing away from them was probably kind of weird if not extremely rude,but Logan didn't care.He didn't want to talk,he didn't want to sit around doing nothing;he wanted to be out there running these bastards to ground and making them regret the day they were born. 

"Why did you lie?"He asked,giving him that soulful eyes thing.Even though Logan only saw it out of the corner of his eye,it still annoyed him greatly,and he scowled at him. 

"Who?" 

"To Naomi.To her parents.You were more than her friend,Logan." 

"She doesn't need to know." 

"Yes she does,"Angel instantly countered."It's not just part of your past but her past too.You don't have the right to edit it as you see fit." 

"Stay out of it,Angel,"he growled,his fingers digging so hard into the edge of the bed his claws were in danger of popping out. 

"No.I didn't know her as well as you,but I considered her a friend.Well,sort of.She deserves to know the truth." 

"Mind your own fucking business."He spat,jumping to his feet and glaring at him.If Angel wanted to fight,he had to know he'd do nothing but lose. 

"She loved you,"Angel shot back."Did you know that?" 

The words hit him like an iron fist to the stomach,but Logan struggled not to show it on his face,or say what he immediately thought:She couldn't love me.No one loves me. 

"I guess you didn't,"Angel continued,at least having the decency to look slightly embarrassed. 

"Aren't you going back to California?"Logan asked,making sure there was only annoyance in his voice.The idea that Naomi could have loved him made him feel cold all the way to his marrow, and nearly blind with pure,utter rage. 

Angel grimaced,as if Logan was doing this just to be difficult,and then offered,"The car was impounded but it hasn't been picked up.I can go steal it back tonight." 

"Welcome to the world of the lawless."He then grinned at him,knowing that would make Angel uncomfortable,but it felt forced even to Logan.The fear that Naomi may have loved him buzzed around his mind like an angry wasp and made his stomach ache,like someone had just rammed a sword through it. 

"Knowing she loved you,you're still going to lie to her,aren't you?"Angel asked,ostensibly curious, but Logan was sure he heard judgment in his voice. 

"I said leave it,"he snarled,feeling the rage like vomit rising in the back of his throat.At least his face now felt warm. 

"Are you that much of a coward?"Angel said,his dark eyes narrowing in challenge. 

"Do you think I want to do this?!"Logan exploded,storming violently towards him.He made himself pause before the black rage swamped him and took Angel right along with it."This is for her own fucking good!Haven't you got it through your thick fucking skull that I am poison?! Everyone around me suffers and dies and I am sick and fucking tired of it!She is better off without me!Maybe now she'll finally be free from those motherfucking monsters who want to use her,and I will never,ever be used in any capacity to get at her again!Is that clear,or do I need to start writing it down?!" 

Angel stood his ground,although his shoulders did straighten a little,as if he might bolt if necessary,but the rest of the accusations in his eyes died unspoken as his expression softened."She wouldn't want you to do this,Logan." 

"Do what?" 

"Hunt for revenge,look for more trouble.She did what she did so you could live,not so you could die.Or worse." 

"She wasn't thinking,"he snapped,turning away from Angel so his face could not betray him."I've lost almost all my fucking memories,and the ones I do have ain't that great-what's another ten years to me?"He felt so ill with despair and anger he was afraid he actually might vomit,and he couldn't remember the last time he had done that.Had he ever done that? 

"She did what she did because she loved you and she didn't want to see you get hurt anymore." Angel paused,before adding solemnly,"Exactly why you're doing what you're doing." 

Logan froze as the meaning of what Angel had said sunk in,and as soon as he was sure he could speak,he spun around and snapped,"I didn't-" 

But Angel was gone.The doorway was empty,and Logan was relatively sure he heard the soft thud of a door closing in the next room.Sometimes Angel could skulk away so quickly and silently it was almost eerie. 

Logan's words died in his mouth:"I didn't love her?How could I?I don't even fucking know what it is!" But as he sagged back onto the end of the bed,he wondered if that was slightly disingenuous. 

No,he wasn't sure of what love was exactly,beyond some force fed abstract concept;he wasn't sure he was even capable of feeling such a thing,nonetheless knowing it when he saw it.But that was just it-he wasn't sure.He couldn't say yes or no. 

All he knew was when Naomi didn't recognize him anymore,when he realized that woman-her sister Maddy-was the Lethe they had been threatening him with,it was like Naomi had died. And with that part of him had died too,leaving a hollow in the center of his chest that filled instantly with a blinding,bloody rage that turned his blood to ice and filled his mind with a white noise that blotted out the entire hateful fucking world.The soldiers he fought on the way to con and actually blowing the place up was just a blur now,more like a half remembered dream then anything that really happened. 

"Emotions can make people do stupid things," she had said,and she was right.They had. 

Logan laid back on his hard hotel bed and stared up at the white stuccoed ceiling,suddenly feeling so weak he was not sure he could move. 

He wanted to mourn for Naomi-and maybe for himself-but he wasn't sure he knew how. 

    EPILOGUE 

    Logan knew he was no longer alone,but it didn't bother him,because he knew exactly who had joined him.He could smell her skin. 

He rolled over,well aware he was asleep,and put his arm around her as he pressed up against her back,feeling the lazy itch of electricity as it crawled along his skin,making the hair on his arms and chest stand on end.She snuggled back against him,making a low,sleepy noise of contentment in her throat,not even opening her eyes. 

He rested his head against hers,feeling the softness of her hair,its odor still some berry scented conditioner with just a tinge of hair dye beneath,and enjoyed the warmth of her body for just a moment... 

And then she was gone.He was aware he had his arm draped over a cold and empty space,and he came fully awake,disappointed but not at all surprised. 

The pale blue half light of dawn was seeping in through the seams of the beige curtains,slender blades of illumination striating the coffee brown carpet in a pattern reminiscent of prison bars.  
Logan pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes until he saw a kaleidoscope pattern of black, white,and red burst to life behind his eyelids. 

It took a moment for him to remember where he was,in what cheap motel in what part of Canada,and what the hell he thought he was doing.That last part was always the hardest,and the longest in coming back to him.But it shouldn't have been-everything that tortured him and kept him from sleeping at nights was why he was here,half way to nowhere and not even half way through his journey. 

As he got up and stumbled blearily to the tiny,claustrophobic bathroom,he remembered that Xavier had called him last night.Of course,it had been a week since he called him to ask him to look after Naomi and her parents-he was in another hotel,another city,and had certainly told no one about where he was going (even he wasn't sure until he got too tired to stay on the road).But he didn't have to puzzle over how Xavier found him for too long;he used that Cerebro doohickey probably,found him with his mind.He hoped he hadn't seen him in the bar last night-but that wasn't his fault:those dickheads started it.And why did he give a rat's ass what Xavier thought about him kicking some redneck ass?It was his life;he could kick any butt he wanted.And did. 

Xavier called to tell him that Naomi and her parents were as safe as possible,and Naomi's powers were extremely impressive-and dangerous.Her control over it was equally impressive,but there was some hope she could improve on it further,although she had no interest in joining their little group,which didn't surprise Logan in the least.He and Naomi had a 'loose cannon' quality in common. 

Xavier was not only calling to inform him of Naomi's status (and gauge his reactions from the news),but also to inquire about the mutant who called himself 'Angel'-apparently,Naomi had mentioned him.His first impulse was to be truthful-"He's not a mutant,he's a vampire."-but just thinking that convinced Logan he was losing his mind.What the hell would Xavier think? 

So he told him he had his own group on the West Coast,real small,but with the expressed goal of helping people:they'd even helped him once (okay,maybe more than once,but Xavier didn't need to know that),and he was in absolutely no danger from these government guys.Xavier seemed dubious about that,so Logan told him to just trust him.If he thought Angel was in actual danger,he would let him know. 

Amazingly,Xavier accepted that. 

He tried to give him the revenge talk too,the one Angel gave him but then bailed out of (before he left for Cali,he said his point was still valid,but he felt he was being a hypocrite since he might do the same thing.Angel added,apropos of nothing,that sometimes you had to leave the ones you loved to protect them,but he still thought Naomi had the right to know),but his disinterest was palpable,so Xavier just warned him to be careful,and to check in regularly,just so they knew he was safe.Angel had said something similar also. 

He was a grown man for Christ's sake,and he was not a parolee either-he didn't need to 'check in' with anyone.He could handle himself.Well,most of the time. 

He turned on the shower,and listened to the pipes in the wall bang as the water struggled to heat up,dribbling erratically from the rusty shower head into the stained porcelain tub,the bottom of which was marred with yellow plastic 'safety daisies' that managed to make an ugly tub absolutely hideous. As the water warmed up,he wandered back out into the main room to look out the window. 

Beyond his view of the cracked parking lot,the potholed ribbon of road,and the sad small businesses on the opposite side,the snowy,sharp peaks of the Canadian Rockies loomed over everything like a shadow of doom.Logan knew there were still government rodents hiding up there;weasels hiding in the snowy reaches and the dense forests,shitheads who had taken away his freedom,his memories...Naomi. 

He didn't care how long it took,or how dangerous it was-he would hunt them down and make them pay.No,it wouldn't restore his memories,or restore Naomi's,but if he took them out of the game they couldn't do this to any other mutant,and maybe that would just have to be enough. 

He could hear the water beating a rhythmic tattoo on the bottom of the tub as the knocking faded to a quiet,repetitive tapping,meaning the water had finally heated up enough to be bearable.But he stared out the window a moment longer,not seeing the mountains so much as thinking of Naomi. 

He did wonder where she was,how she was doing,but he had to put that aside.She was safe and that was all he needed to know-now and forever. 

He knew she would never remember him.But he also knew he would always remember her. 

THE END 


End file.
